The genesis for my Ash Wednesday blogpost is a paragraph I recently read when leafing through a book on my friend’s coffee table. Edward Hays, in his reflection book, The Lenten Labyrinth, provides a pithy guide for our Lenten observance.
In the book’s foreword, the spiritual writer concisely depicts the spiritual magnitude of the gift of Lent. He proclaims:
“Rejoice, you are about to begin a great adventure
and a journey of transformation
which holds the power to change - to radically enrich
- your way of thinking and believing.”
The author strikes a surprising note using the word, “Rejoice!” for active Lenten participation. Many readers would be familiar with the association of rejoice and Laetare Sunday in Lent. However, the pairing of rejoice to include the whole of Lent is a novel idea and might take the Lenten participant off guard. More personal reflection is needed to discover how claiming this juxtaposition of rejoice and Lent might switch things up and provide us with a new Lenten experience.
Furthermore, the author having prescribed the Lenten spirit as, “Rejoice!” goes on to set its starting point, as beginning “a great adventure.” Its route is, “a journey of transformation” and its destination is interiorizing “a new way of thinking and believing.”
Hays advises us to think of ourselves as pilgrims on an annual pilgrimage. He emphasizes that our spiritual trek is in solidarity with other sojourners. How might our six- week Lenten experience be shaped if we thought of it as making a quasi-Camino? The writer encourages:
“Know that as you prepare
to make the first step on this journey,
you are doing it in the company of other pilgrims.”
On this Ash Wednesday, Christians are invited to begin their journey of transformation by stepping forward to receive the telltale mark of ashes on their foreheads and once again hear the ancient call, “Repent and believe the Good News.” Hays reminds us:
“While it will be private
- or rather a personal - retreat or renewal,
at the same time, it will be a global venture,
shared with your brother and sister Christians.”
Are you ready? Let’s go!
-Sister Nancy Wales, csj