We are soon to find that we have been brought to Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent. This change is a part of our yearly rhythm. The ​liturgical calendar​ sets before us our seasons and commemorations. We are leaving one of the two ordinary seasons that comprise most of the year. It is ordinary in several ways. Its ordinariness invites us to reflect upon and be present in our daily life. The divine office here lacks the breadth and depth of changes found in the propers of other seasons. The majority of the year is ordinary, as are most of the days of our lives.

Yet, something extraordinary has happened. We love God because God first loved us. In the milieu of each of our lives, the love of God was waiting for us. And this Wednesday we walk into a season of remembrance. For there was a time before we knew the love of God and before the Spirit was our guide. Jesus has looked upon us with gentleness and tenderness from atop the cross and through the dark solitude of Easter morning. Let the ashes of this Wednesday remind us of life without faith, where our hope was bound to what we could see. How glorious it is to pray as Jesus taught us, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.“

It is a tradition in the season of Lent to ​abstain​. I want to invite you in this season to stop, turn to Christ, and pray. For the simplicity of ​abstaining​ from something is an invitation to rest within the presence of our God. That same tenderness and gentleness is a balm that heals our ability to hope. I need that balm this year. Join me, beloved, as we enter into our season of Lent. Our God has begun many good works within you. Take time to see and bear witness to His will being done in your life as it is in Heaven.

I am with you in ashes and hope.