Ash Wednesday Reflection

Chapter 49 of the Rule of Benedict

St. Benedict begins Chapter 49 on “The Observance of Lent,” with a powerful challenge: “The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent.” For Benedict, this does not mean a life of heaviness, misery, or hardship. Rather, it is an invitation to live our lives in love, generous and forgiving love, with intentionality and purpose, always turning our hearts back to God.

We need seasons of renewal, and Lent offers us a time to slow down, to look into our heart and to deepen our love and commitment to God, ourselves, and one another. As we spend more time in prayerful reflection, abstinence from food and drink, restraint from idle talk and needless judgements, we look forward to Easter with joy and spiritual longing.  

There is a famous story about Leonardo da Vinci while he was painting The Last Supper. In the middle of his work, he had a bitter argument with a fellow painter. Fueled by resentment, he devised a way to get back at him: Leonardo painted the man’s face onto the figure of Judas Iscariot. Visitors who saw the painting in progress immediately recognized the likeness, and Leonardo took a certain pleasure in this quiet act of revenge.

But when he came at last to paint the face of Jesus, he found he simply could not do it. His mind was blank, his hand unable to move. Gradually, it became clear to him that the hatred he was harboring had closed off his ability to portray the face of Christ. Only after he sought out the other painter, apologized, and made peace did the block lift. Leonardo repainted the face of Judas, removing the likeness of his enemy, and only then was he free to complete the image of Christ—one of the greatest portrayals in the history of art. Leonardo had to let go of his anger and hatred before he could be his best self.

Imagine a world photo, a massive collage of real people that includes war victims, war makers, refugees, soldiers, protestors, oppressed and abused children, frightened and angry men and women of all nationalities, the forgotten, the rich and powerful. Everyone in the same frame.  Ask yourself: “Can I see Christ in each of them?” Some faces shine with His light. Some hide behind fear or pain. But Christ is there, waiting for us to recognize Him and love Him. This is the radical vision Jesus offers and wants us to embrace. This is what motivates us to action and service. 

This Lent, I would like to invite you not to paint a masterpiece or make a collage, but to spend some quiet time in front of our community photo hanging on the wall in our hallway. Let it become, for these forty days, a gentle mirror for an examination of conscience. 

As you look at each sister’s face, ask yourself:

• Can I see Christ in her?
• Is there someone I instinctively want to “white out” or delete?
• Do I hold resentment because a sister has hurt me or disappointed me?
• What judgments do I make about her?
• And perhaps most tenderly: how do I look upon myself?

Just as Leonardo had to learn to not let resentment cloud his ability to see Christ in others, we, too, must learn not to let fear, self-centeredness, and undealt baggage from our past cloud our ability to see Christ in others and in ourselves. Lent is about love. Spending more time in prayer softens the heart. Fasting clears the soul so that we can more readily share in the suffering of others. Almsgiving stretches us outward in compassion. These practices help us recognize Christ’s face in the people around the world, in our community, and in the person we see in the mirror.  We are all connected, a community, brothers and sisters in Christ.

May these forty days allow us to become artists so that we may create a masterpiece, a work of art, of joyful, faith-filled disciples that God will be proud to hang on the heavenly walls of heaven.