Rome and Assisi--what better place is there to begin our penitential journey to Easter? This past week we were so blessed to be able to spend time in the home of our Catholic faith--Rome, Italy. Amidst pounds of pasta lathered in olive oil and mouth-watering chocolate gelato, we were welcomed into the arms of the Church, and we journeyed to some of the most famous places in the history of civilization.
For me, the most striking element of our whole pilgrimage was the fact that we were able to truly delve ourselves into the Lenten season right from the beginning, with various elements of our journey pointing to the Cross of Christ. We began Ash Wednesday with a papal audience, where our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, reminded us that the Lord is calling us to conversion and repentance and that we must take up our crosses and follow Christ. With convicted hearts, we continued our Ash Wednesday celebration by climbing (on our knees) the stairs on which Christ walked while being sentenced to death. It was extremely powerful to experience this reminder of the suffering of our Lord, especially right at the beginning of Lent. After climbing the holy stairs, we got to spend time in Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, which contains pieces of the true cross of Christ, two thorns from Jesus’ crown of thorns, one nail used in the Crucifixion, and other important artifacts from the passion of Jesus. I don’t think there could have been a better
way for us to begin Lent, since these elements of the pilgrimage pointed us towards that which we are working--to unite our sufferings to Jesus’ sufferings so that we can be truly one with him forever in heaven.
A classic and important example of someone who unites his sufferings to Christ’s sufferings is St. Francis of Assisi, and it was his example that led us to the second part of our pilgrimage--Assisi, Italy. The life of St. Francis was full of trials and sacrifices, and through following in his footsteps in Assisi, we were able to see the actual places in which Francis modeled the love and passion of our Lord. Assisi was a place of the outpouring of so much grace into our hearts, and I am pretty sure that nearly everyone experienced God’s presence and his peace profoundly, in some way or another.
One thing that struck me today in prayer as I was thinking about Assisi in relation to Lent was the fact that we got to see St. Clare’s hair that St. Francis cut for her once she decided to give her life to the Lord. Encased in a clear box, her long golden locks were a symbol of the death Clare experienced to the world and the life she gained in Christ. St. Clare’s hair wasn’t the only hair we’ve seen on display on our Austria journey, however. In Auschwitz, there was a whole room dedicated to an exhibit of the hair of thousands of the prisoners of the concentration camp. Also encased by a clear box, this enormous pile of hair was just a small sign of the evils human beings can bring upon other human beings. Both displays--the one in Assisi and the one in Auschwitz--were a symbol of death, in one way or another. The hair found in Auschwitz was a sign of the weight of the sins of humankind and that these sins lead to death. The hair of St. Clare, however, was a reminder of the human being’s capacity to choose life in Christ by dying to the world. When Clare cut off her hair, she was rejecting everything that could have taken her away from Jesus. By Clare’s death to the world and to the temptations of the flesh, she was brought to a new life in the things of heaven, a life in the Sacred Heart of Christ. This is the Christian paradox presented to us in the season of Lent. It is in turning from our sins and denying ourselves that we are able to turn to God and choose life. By dying, we live.
I hope that in this season of Lent, all of the students here in Gaming will be open to receiving a new life in Christ. We must remember that in order for this to happen, we have to die to ourselves and to the world. Only Christ gives true life. May we follow the examples of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi in choosing life by rejecting sin, taking up our crosses, and following Jesus.
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