“What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you shall be.”
Father Sean Ralph, rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, drew a message from that quote which he said is on a plaque in the Capuchin Crypt in Rome. He visited the crypt, which is filled with the bones of thousands of friars. Many of the bones were crafted into unique and intricate artworks. There also are skeletons of friars wearing their habits or vestments.
Father Ralph said the crypt, also known as the Bone Church of Rome, is a reminder of Lent and our eventual death.
“We are given the tools we need to get into shape for when we meet the Lord (death),” Father said during his homily at the noon Mass on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 26. Our lives should be different during Lent, he noted. Hundreds attended the liturgy – one of six Masses celebrated at the cathedral that day -- which included distribution of blessed ashes.
“How is my prayer life?” is one key question Father Ralph said each of us should consider. “Do you pray daily?” he asked.
“Prayer is how we deepen our relationship with God. He gives us 24 hours every day and we need to commit some of that time – an hour, a half-hour, 20 minutes, something on a regular basis – for prayer to deepen that relationship,” he said.
In addition to prayer, Catholics are called to fasting and almsgiving during Lent.
“Lent is not supposed to be miserable. It is a time to make us holy,” Father Ralph said.
While fasting often involves giving up a type of food, Father Ralph said it also can mean “fasting” from television, social media or other enjoyments. If tempted to indulge in something we’re fasting from, he said our intellect should kick in to remind us of our fast.
“We set something aside for a higher spiritual purpose. Fasting is meant to strengthen our will, our resolve,” he said.
And the call to give alms does not apply only to financial charitable assistance, although that is important. “Almsgiving is also a call to give of ourselves -- including our time and talent,” Father Ralph said. Engaging in works of mercy is a form of almsgiving because it makes us more like God, he added. Some suggestions are volunteering at a hunger center or other ministry to aid the needy or volunteering for a parish ministry.
“We spend 40 days of Lent in the spiritual desert so that when we get to Easter, we are holier than we are today and ready to stand before the Lord at the end of our lives,” Father Ralph said.
For more Lenten resources, click HERE.