The Cross of Repentance
AST YEAR FOR LENT you may remember that we were asked to bring in pieces of cloth and that these were all sewn into a Garment of Suffering.
As we looked at the large multi-coloured cloth draped over the cross we could see the small piece of cloth representing our own suffering set amidst all the other pieces of cloth, representing all the suffering of so many other people. It was a significant part of Lent for us last year and it is hoped that the Cross of Repentance will have similar meaning for us this year.
Beginning on Ash Wednesday we will all be invited to fix a drawing pin into the cross. This will symbolise acknowledgement of our sin, our sorrow for our sin, and our intention to turn from sin.
It will probably be a hard thing for us to do – to drive a pin into the cross. It will remind us of the nails that were hammered into the hands and feet of Jesus and the immense
pain that he experienced – a pain he accepted so that our sins could be forgiven. That is why it will be so important that we realise what we are doing.
On Ash Wednesday when we come to Mass we will be asked to think about our sinfulnesss, because the first thing we have to do is to acknowledge that we are sinners. Jesus accepts us as sinners, he said that he came for sinners not for the righteous. But he does not want us to stay in our sins, he wants us to repent, be sorry, turn away from those things that cause us to sin. Only by recognising those areas of our lives can we begin to change.
The next thing we will be asked to do is to be sorry for our sins. We may well be able to list a number of ways we have failed, or hurt someone, or been unfaithful, but unless we are sorry and form the intention not to fail in the same ways again, our repentance is pointless. As we put the pin into the cross, sorrow for sin is a large part of the action we are making.
Afterwards we will come forward to receive the ashes on our foreheads. Father John Joe will say Repent and believe the Good News. We should respond ‘Amen’ indicating our assent, our intention to repent and our commitment to the Gospel – the Good News.