There was a second gathering of the faithful here today, and as though the first was a practice for the second, there were almost 600 people present for the later gathering. Some cynics might believe that people seem to come to the Church in droves whenever we are 'giving something away'. In a materialistic society, this might appear to be quite easy to believe, but I think that there's much more to the story.
On the surface, many people might prefer to make the world think that everything's OK, that all the pieces are in the right place, but somewhere under all the appearances, how many of us really do have all the pieces in the right places? How many of us have a shadow side: the part of us that we would rather ignore ... until we are forced to face the demons?
Is it the fact that we 'give away' ashes today that summons so many people to be here? or is there a deeper reality ... the fact that there's a part of all of us that needs to be admitted, that needs to be healed, that hopes for reconciliation? The Lenten call to repentence speaks more eloquently than any words, because the truth is that no human words are as profound as God's call for us to return, as God's reminder for us to care for one another, as God's urging for us to share the goods of this earth that are blessings shared with us in the first place.
The Lenten discipline calls us to fast from the abundance that surrounds us every day, so that we can find room to hunger for God, for change, for a renewed appreciation for the love that He offers, and God's response is a gift that we receive in such abundance that we cannot even begin to measure it.
Happy Lent.
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