Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning
– Joel 2:12
Barely made it
I’m in Denver for a new job and it took a little planning to figure out how I would get to Ash Wednesday Mass. Luckily, I was staying at a hotel which was a 20 minute walk from the Denver Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
So my plan was to go to 7am Mass, which was the only one in the area which I could make before my flight. And while I set my alarm for 5:30am – of course – somehow I wake up to my clock saying 6:49. 10 Minutes to the start of Mass! By the grace of God, I was able to get dressed and call an Uber who got me there just in time to hear the Gospel (Daily Masses move fast).
I was moved by the homily
Despite being so energized after starting a new job, upon reflecting on Lent (much to the loving nudges of my wife) I think I realized that I was carrying a lot of baggage walking into the Lenten season. I think it was a matter of both ignorance and realization hitting me at the same time – when you take a look back at yourself and realize you could have done a lot better or there was room to improve. Sort of like an examination of conscience, but then you don’t feel great about it.
I was starting new but I had a lot to work on. And to top it off, I started my day with the holiest of intentions, but almost missed my objective completely. Being barely awake and loathing myself at 7:05am probably didn’t help. The point is, I was doubting myself. Doubt that being in the presence of God was meant for me.
“Even now, says the Lord…”
The priest at this particular Mass had a tone of “tough love” as he gave his homily. But it wasn’t like the tough kind that is honest and tells you you’re doing wrong. It was more like a good friend slapping you to come to your senses. He basically emphasized that even now, despite your condition and whatever state of sin you think you’re in, God is calling you to go to Him. Commanding you! He went on to summarize the story of the Prodigal Son as an example of God’s unconditional forgiveness. No matter how beaten or tattered your sin has left you, even now should you come [back] to Him.
I almost cried during that homily. A day earlier, my wife sent me a reflection on “Nunc Coepi”, the Latin phrase that means “to begin again”. At that moment I didn’t think I’d have to begin again so soon, and I may have to multiple times during Lent. I think what I felt was love and the permission to begin again by choosing to go to God, no matter what I felt about myself.
I used that 20 minute walk back to my hotel as my “penance” after Mass, but also as time to reflect.
Hope you had a blessed Ash Wednesday and start to Lent.