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March 2, 2022Even 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. [Joel]
Many a conversation between Catholics today will contain the question: "What are you going to do for Lent this year?" Some will phrase it: "What are you giving up for Lent?" To the latter form my father would always answer, "Watermelon and Grand Opera!" (He didn't care for either one!) The "giving up" part seems to me to be in the "garment rending" category instead of the "heart rending" that the prophet Joel calls for. "Garment rending" seems also to be more public than "heart rending," which Jesus warns about when he says, "Be on guard against doing good deeds where others can see them..." in the gospel scripture for today. This poses a question to me about Ash Wednesday that I confront every year. Those ashes are very public on that day.
Given the fact that Ash Wednesday is probably THE one day of the liturgical year when more Catholics go to church than any other day ("to get my ashes"), one might be justified in hoping that the public "garment rending" of wearing ashes for a few hours might give rise to a mighty "heart rending" and signal a season of reconciliation and a "giving up" that is turned into one step in a process of "giving to!" We may not be able to do a grand gesture. Maybe the little cardboard "rice bowl" that shows up in many parishes will be the best we can manage. But if it comes from "heart rending" we are on the right path. The Lord's very gift of his own life for us all can be our inspiration to give at least a bit of our own life to others in Lent. "Rending garments" just gives us "rags". "Rending the heart" can give "riches" that can give new meaning to Lent! AMEN
