Ashes into Hopes and Dreams

Ash Wednesday 2014 Thoughts:

We are entering that time of year when the “to be” High School and College graduates are looking ahead; mostly to graduation day.  They are often asked, “What are your hopes and dreams within the next few years?” The reply is often a mumbling of words that sound poetic but are not necessarily clear, or an accelerated verbal text with very high achievements and cultural expectations.

In many cultural settings whether global or social, hopes and dreams have no definition. For us as a faith-based community, we have hope, and we can dream. In the acclamation of the Holy Baptism liturgy, we say: There is one hope in God’s call to us! Two words should speak to us, as we move through this Lenten season. The words are Call and Hope.  God calls us every day; through apps, twitters, whispers, silence, cries, laughter, and on and on.  What do we hear? How should we respond?

Often we, in our responsiveness, will use Lent to fast from our favorite and addictive foods, drinks, activities, etc. as a discipline to allow us to “hear” God’s voice better. Or, we take on more activities, such as extensions of “outreach”, to prove that we are “hearing” God’s voice.  All of this is like a second set of New Year’s resolutions!

Our quest is not to push ourselves to some extreme, but to be mindful of our hopes, and the hopes and dreams of others. God’s call to us in Isaiah is to: “loose the bonds of injustice, undo the thongs of the yoke, let the oppressed go free. . .” To do this, we are called to embrace the essence of hope. An essence that includes, Humility, Openness, Patience and Endurance [H.O.P.E.]

Humility: The word humility is rooted from Latin variations of humilis being low and humus meaning earth.  Low and at ground level; earth like dirt and ashes:  Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Henri Nouwen, says that “Humility is staying close to the ground, to people, to everyday life, to what is happening with all its down-to-earthiness.” Being mindful!  Being present!

Openness:  Being open to the ways of cultural and social issues that impede the blossoming of hopes and dreams; learning to be sensitive.

Patience:  Being patient, is to pace one’s self with actions of meaning.

Endurance:  With openness and patience, allow as much time, and as much energy, as it will take to put hopes and dreams into reality.

In today’s call to a Holy Lent, be mindful and prayerful. Use the essence of H.O.P.E. as your mantra,  And, graduate, cum laude, into the living H.O.P.E. of your journey toward the Cross!