It has been claimed that “Goa is a happening place” and we all know how much happens here. These days there have been celebrations for Christenings, First Holy Communion, confirmation, pre and post Weddings, Birthdays, Christmas, New Year and every other good and auspicious occasion, as they blend one into the other. We know how tiring these functions can get since they cannot be avoided for one reason or the other.
Ash Wednesday then, serves as a brake – a slowing down or stop on all the entertainment. As the imposition of the Ash on that day reminds us that ‘we are dust’, may the cross on our forehead serve to remind us to change our thoughts very firmly from what is of this world, to Jesus who died on that cross. May the cross of Ash draw us to look inward to the “ash” accumulated inside us, and use the Lenten season to “dust it off”. A simple beginning would be with prayer.
- Let us begin a new habit of tracing the sign of the cross on our body slowly, to invoke the Trinity and to remind ourselves that Jesus silently died on the cross for us and that He is in our mind, our hearts and every cell of our being.
- Let us set aside 10 minutes a day in the morning and also in the night to talk to Jesus about our needs for the day and for what we have accomplished with His help, at the close of the day.
- Select a meaningful hymn, Psalm or Words of Jesus eg. “I have come to give you life….”, “Father forgive them…” and carry it around throughout the day & even for days till it becomes a part of you and brings healing.
- During the Lenten season, make time to ask Jesus about the pain He bore through His Passion and Death.
- The emotional pain – of knowing He would be betrayed, denied, deserted by His Apostles. Yet He washed 24 very dirty feet.
- The psychological pain – from the first slap in front of the High Priest, till He hung on the cross naked.
- The physical pain – from the scourging ordered by Pilate, till the last nail hammered into His feet.
Listen to what Jesus has to say and rest in His Peace and Love.
May these suggestions or others that come to you during the Lenten Season, help to bring you closer to Jesus and experience His love, Peace and Healing. Have a more meaningful Lenten celebration.
J. Rodrigues