Please be patient. God isn’t finished with me yet

Deacon Greg Kandra of Brooklyn NY wrote in his Ash Wednesday Homily

Please be patient.  God isn’t finished with me yet.

Today we proclaim this message. We do it  with ashes on our brow. The ashes we wear announce to the world that we are sinners. They tell all that we are beginning 40 days of prayer, and repentance, and sacrifice — that we are Catholics seeking to reconcile ourselves with God.

The Gospel today reminds us: “Do not look gloomy…anoint your head and wash your face.”   I’d take that one step further: add to this season of penance and prayer a sense of possibility.  Make it an occasion for hope. And yes, even, joy.

Turn away from the simple things that give you pleasure, to give some small joy to another.
We think of Lent as a time for giving up.  I say this every year, but it is true: “Giving up” begins with “giving.” Give something of yourself to someone else.Begin by giving joy. And if you truly want to give up something, don’t just settle for chocolate or hamburgers or cheesecake – though right about now, I think, we’d all like to lose that weight we gained over Christmas. Go further.  Go deeper.  Try giving up something really hard. Give up cynicism.  Or jealousy.  Or backstabbing. Give up gossip.  Give up regrets for choices you never made or paths your never took.  Give up fighting God’s will for you.

It begins here, and now.  And it will take the rest of our lives to do.  But nothing is more important.  It is the great work of our salvation.  The journey of Lent is one more leg on our journey back to the Father — a  journey of struggle, and sacrifice. But a journey, ultimately, of joy.

I've been working since the end of August with an extraordinary group of high school students from St. Luke's Parish with whom I will be taking a week long mission trip in April to work with the handicapped and disabled children of the Mustard Seed Community at Montego Bay, Jamaica.   As a group, we've agreed to devote our personal Lenten sacrifices to support our mission trip for the benefit of the children of Mustard Seed who rely on the generosity of strangers for their basic needs. For lent, I'm giving up alcohol, chewing gum, soda at lunch lunch, and desserts and will be donating the savings to the mission trip. I'm looking forward to a fruitful Lent and a joyful Easter.