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Today, the Lenten journey to the cross begins. The first of our 40 crosses. accordingly, is that iconic Cross of Ashes that reminds us that we are made of dust "and to dust we will return." We will receive and see this Cross of Ashes drawn across the foreheads of many people today, reminding us that we are only here for a very short while so we should gather our thoughts, focus our attention and set our sights resolutely upon our metaphoric Jerusalem, just as Jesus did when he set his steps towards that city, knowing exactly what lay in store for Him. Let us not grow weary this Lent, or much worse, distracted and forgetful, but start and end this journey well.
The Cross of Ashes is an image of a few of the lines from T.S. Eliot's famous poem, "East Coker," drawn from his larger work "Four Quartets." Eliot writes:
'In my beginning is my end. In succession
Houses rise and fall, crumble, are extended,
Are removed, destroyed, restored, or in their place
Is an open field, or a factory, or a by-pass.
Old stone to new building, old timber to new fires,
Old fires to ashes, and ashes to the earth.'
The poem reminds us that everything new passes away, from new structures to new houses. But also, what is old passes away. Ultimately, everything returns to the earth, back to the dust from which it came. How we started is where we will end. Eliot invites us to journey down the via negativa, the path of self-emptying, of self-renunciation, where we come to terms with the reality of our situation. He writes:
'The only wisdom we can hope to acquire
Is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless.'
If we want to gain the life of Christ, the life opened to us through His cross, then we must be prepared to take on His humility as well, the humility that opens out into eternity.
Let us pray: Holy Trinity, be with us as we begin our Lenten journey today. Open our eyes, to see what you want us to see, open our ears, to hear your words, open our minds, to understand your path and open our hearts, so we may become you in the world. And in all things, let us praise you. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
A life-long Catholic, Sarah has worked for the Catholic church for close to 20 years, helping parents, grandparents, godparents and children of all ages learn about and live their Catholic faith. A big believer in integrating reason with imagination, she especially loves using stories, particularly the stories of C.S.Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Inklings, as well as symbols and physical "stuff" to catechize and ponder over.
She earned her undergraduate degree in English from the University of Dallas, then went on to complete a Master's in Language and Literature at St. Mary's University and years later, while living on a farm in rural Indiana with kids, dogs, chickens and ducks, she earned a Master's degree in Theology from Franciscan University of Stuebenville. She is getting close to finishing a doctoral degree in Romantic Theology, and would love for you to follow her writing on Substack, as well as here at Catholic365.
