Every year we begin the holy season of Lent with the imposition of ashes. Ash Wednesday is on February 21. These ashes are blessed during the mass reminding us that we are “dust” in order to “keep us faithful to the discipline of Lent” (cf. Blessing of Ashes). The discipline of Lent calls us to genuine fasting, prayer and alms-giving (Matt 6:1-6, 16-18). These are ashes of the old palms (palaspas) we used the past year. Palms that signified our gladness in the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem have become ashes that signify sadness for our sins; from palms to ashes – from an expression of gladness to a demonstration of sadness. How can both gladness and sadness be present in the season of Lent?
Lent is a time of preparation for the celebration of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And we prepare ourselves best through penitence and repentance. We realize our unfaithfulness and regret having committed sin. There is anguish in our hearts for being weak and frail. This brings remorse to our hearts. But this is only half of the Lenten journey. The other half that makes our penitence and repentance truly fruitful is the overflowing mercy of God. He desires our transformation not only to satisfy his will and realize his plans, but more importantly for our salvation – “for you do not want sinners to die but to live” (cf. Blessing of Ashes). This is truly a source of joy. Even though we have lived a life of sin and selfishness God offers us a new chance in life with his boundless mercy and love. The realization of our infidelity before God’s fidelity can fill us with deep remorse and incomparable joy at the same time. It can be very confusing, but God’s mercy always brings consolation. Our iniquities fill us with sadness, but God’s mercy fills us with gladness.
As the ashes are imposed on us the ministers say, “Repent and believe in the gospel.” Repentance entails an honest acceptance of our faults that fills our heart with remorse. Anguish for having offended God is an element in conversion. On the other hand, believing in the gospel requires a firm trust in the good news of the mercy and love of the Father. And so we rejoice in the joy that the mercy of God brings, even in the midst of guilt, sin and weakness. God’s mercy overpowers our weakness. Thus, this season of Lent, though your heart be filled with remorse because of sin, do not loose heart and be joyful in the boundless mercy of God.
