Homily for Ash Wednesday

This Lent, if possible, it might be a good idea to take a walk among the trees of winter. We can learn from the trees; in a certain way, they are like a catechism.

Each spring, the trees begin their year's work: They gather water and nutrients in their roots and give life to the year's harvest; in the late summer, they give it all away — the birds of the air, the animals of the wood, and you and I feast on their bounty; then, as winter comes, they let it all go in one colorful display of God's grandeur.

And now, in the dead of winter, they go deep into their roots for renewal and sleep. Trees stand among us as living expressions of hope, for they know that the winter winds will cease, that the icy snow will melt, that the warmth of spring will come, and life will be born and grow and become.

This Lent let your heart walk among the trees and let them be your spiritual teachers.

Go deep into your roots to that place where God dwells within you and speaks words of encouragement, peace, and truth.

Let the Word of God take root within you, that you may realize an abundant harvest of happiness and purpose in the seasons before you.

Learn to let go in order to recover, to detach in order to attach, to die in order to live.

Let the crosses you bear become living branches of Christ the trunk and vine, that they may transform your wounded bark, your disappointing blossoms, your winter loneliness into the eternal springtime of resurrection.

Let us pray: God, Giver of all good things, may this Lenten springtime be a time of renewal for our tired winter spirits. Let your Word take root within us, that we may experience again your love in our midst. Re-make our hearts to the new life of your Christ, that the hope and joy of Easter may become a reality in this life as we journey with Him to the next. +