“Return to Me” by Colleen O’Sullivan

“Return to Me” by Colleen O’Sullivan

Ash Wednesday

Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God.  For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.  (Joel 2:12-13)

We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God...  Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.  (2 Corinthians 5:20b, 6:2c)

Jesus said to his disciples: "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.”   (Matthew 6:1) 

Piety

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.  Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. (Psalm 51:3-4)

Study

For me, Ash Wednesday begins with gratitude – for my life, my family, and my friends; for all that I am and all that I have; for the God behind every good gift, the God who formed me, named me and placed me on this earth; and for God’s Son, Jesus, who, out of unimaginable love, willingly took our sins with him to his death on the Cross so our failings will never be the last word.   Loved, graced and blessed many times over, as I gaze upon the Cross today and throughout Lent, I am overwhelmed by how easily I forget that Wondrous Love, how often I turn away from the Lord and go astray.

Formed from dust and destined to return to dust, we are reminded by the ashes placed on our foreheads this day that we are mortal beings.  We are not God, however much our sins may have us living like gods of our own tiny universes. 

In the first reading, God invites us to turn from sin, to return to God, to tear our hearts rather than our garments.  To change what is in my heart seems a far more difficult task than to fast, to do without something other than food, or to give more generously to the poor.  I cannot do it by myself and God knows that.  It can only happen with God’s help and the presence of a believing, supportive community, such as your Cursillo group.  In my group, we are reading Ron Rolheiser’s Sacred Fire, in which he points out the impossibility of giving up an addiction to alcohol or drugs without a support group or community.  Why should giving up sin be any different?  We’re all addicted to going our own way, rather than God’s way.  

Action

There are probably almost as many different ways to observe Lent as there are individual Christians.  If you are still looking for a way to pray through the season, you could go to Getting Ready for Lent 2019 for some ideas based on the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola.