Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God/Pero aún ahora—oráculo del Señor– vuelvan a mí de todo corazón, con ayuno, llantos y lamentos; Desgarren su corazón y no sus vestiduras, y vuelvan al Señor, su Dios...—Joel 2:12
On Ash Wednesday Pope Francis sent us to our rooms. We, however, are not in trouble. He was using the passage from Joel to show how going to our rooms means “returning to the heart.” It means going from “without to within, so that our whole life, including our relationship with God, is not reduced to mere outward show, a frame without a picture,” but reflects who we are to the “very core of our person.”
Lent is about becoming, and to return to the heart we can embrace “life and the truth of who we are.” The ashes that were placed on our heads last week reminded us we are dust. The ashes invite us to remember that even though “we are dust and our life passes away like a breath...the Lord does not allow [our lives] to vanish…” When we return to the heart, the silence of our rooms, this Lent we can contemplate that “the fire of the love of God burns, then we will discover that we have indeed been shaped by that love and called to love others in turn.”
...For gracious and merciful is God, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment./Porque él es bondadoso y compasivo, lento para la ira y rico en fidelidad, y se arrepriente de tus amenazas—Joel 2:13.
Showcasing SHA talent: Joshua in 5th is a bit shocked that the Pope is sending him to his room.
God bless,
Mrs. Alhadef
Campus Minister
5th Grade Aide