Lent: A time to turn from sin, embrace life

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

By Father Charles Kullmann, C.S.P.

Oh, my gosh! How can Lent be upon us so soon? Where did the time go?

Time is zipping by in all of our lives. We need seasons like Lent to remind us of both the passage of time and of our ultimate destiny. There are two forms of the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday. The more traditional form clearly reminds us of our mortality:  “Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return.” Time is hurrying by, and none of us has an unlimited supply of time. We must be reminded that we need to be serious about using our time to good advantage, to accomplish what we have been put here on earth to do. All to soon each of us will return to the dust from which we came. Do not delay! This sobering thought puts into perspective the trivial items that consume most of our days. Ash Wednesday is a shocking reminder to get real about the job of living, since our death is approaching. “Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return.”

The other form for the imposition of ashes is: “Turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel.” This formula, based on Scripture (Mark 1:14), emphasizes more of what we should be doing. Lent is a time to renew ourselves spiritually. We are called to turn away from all that leads us away from God, that is, to turn away from sin. We are to turn away from all that is self-destructive and harmful, because sin always leads ultimately to death. We turn away from death in order to embrace life. We believe more deeply and fully in the Gospel, that is, the Good News of God’s love for us in his Son, Jesus Christ. Lent is not about pain, or sacrifice, or “giving things up” or death, but ultimately about embracing life. That is our goal: “Turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel.”

I encourage you to seize the opportunity that is Lent. Use Lent to make your life focused on what is really important. Turn away from sin. Embrace life. Believe the Gospel.

Father Kullmann is pastor of Old St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco.