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Meditation: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Ash Wednesday

When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. (Matthew 6:6)

Can you imagine a worm turning into a bird? This is essentially what happens inside the chrysalis of a monarch butterfly. Scientists still don’t understand how, within two weeks, a caterpillar can turn into a completely different creature. Inside that magical chrysalis, the major organs and structures of the caterpillar are all completely dissolved, and new ones are formed. A new heart! New lungs! Wings grow out of nowhere!

It’s no wonder that many parishes use the image of a caterpillar in a cocoon to illustrate the season of Lent. If only we could enter a magical chrysalis and emerge six weeks later as a reflection of God’s beauty and grace!

Of course, we know it’s not magic. It’s a combination of God’s grace and our effort. And while we have no control over the grace, we have a lot of control over our effort. So here are some things we can try to do this season so that we can find our lives changed come Easter Sunday.

First, prayerfully consider what you want to become. What “old organs” do you need to let go of? What kind of “wings” are you looking for?

Secondly, find a chrysalis. This doesn’t mean isolating yourself for forty days. Rather, set aside time each day for prayer. Ponder the Mass readings. Talk to the Lord. Use a journal to record your thoughts. Just fifteen minutes every day can make a huge difference.

Finally, start living your new life. Rearrange your priorities as if you already were that butterfly. Make yourself available to God’s grace through prayer, and you’ll find yourself changing!

If you do your part, you can be confident that God will do his. If he can turn a caterpillar into a butterfly, imagine what he has in store for you!

“Here I am, Lord, ready for your grace. Come and help me become the person you want me to be.”

Joel 2:12-18
Psalm 51:3-6, 12-14, 17
2 Corinthians 5:20–6:2

A Christian Pilgrim

18 February 2015 (Ash Wednesday)

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Re: LENT IS A SEASON OF HOPE

We come to the season of Lent, our “springtime” of refreshing and hope. Think of what it’s like to plant a garden. Would you till the soil, plant the seeds, and faithfully monitor the crops if you had no hope for any growth? Would you spend your time, money, and energy for nothing? Of course not. We plant because we expect some return, some fruit, for our labors. With this in mind, we can understand how deeply God our Father is committed to the Church. God loves His creation. He loves each and every person. His intention that His Church bear lasting fruit is unshakable and unending. Full of love, God looks for a fruitful return on all He has given us.

Lent is a season of love. Our hope rests in the fact that Jesus has defeated sin. He has delivered us from the bondage of sin and He will continue to deliver us with ever-increasing power. How He longs to gather His children together in His embrace (Mark 10:16). We have hope because God is for us, and no one can stand against us (Romans 8:31-32). He is on our side, eager to give us everything we need to grow more and more into the image of His Son, Jesus.

God will never abandon us. He will show us the way to our eternal home, and as we travel along the way, He will form us into His body. In His mercy, He has not left us helpless, but has given us wonderful gifts to help us follow Him – faith and grace, His body and blood in the Eucharist, sanctifying gifts, and spiritual gifts. How wonderful is our God, so wonderful that we can see our lives change to reflect His life more and more!

Every Lent, God, like a farmer, wants to plant seeds in the Church and watch them spring up. He eagerly waits to see new fruit, both in our own lives and in our neighborhoods and communities. He wants to see His people experience all the grace and power they received when they were baptized. He longs to see His Church shine as a light to the world as the people proclaim the Gospel in words and in acts of love.

May this Lent be a time of peace and comfort for you as you seek a deeper experience of God’s presence in your life. May we all know God’s abundant love more deeply.