Becoming the new palm for next year's ashes

The greeting prayed before the Palm Sunday procession reads … “since the beginning of Lent until now we have prepared our hearts by penance and charitable works. Today we gather together to herald with the whole church the beginning of the celebration of Our Lord’s Paschal mystery…” It seems such a short time ago that as I stepped outside the side door of the Hamilton residence the smell of burning palm leaves assailed my nose as the palms were being burned for use during the next day’s Ash Wednesday liturgy. Last year’s palms now used for this year’s ashes. This caused me to reflect as Lent began upon the changes in my own life between last Palm Sunday and this Ash Wednesday. Significant changes that involved life and death and new life. And here we are again at Palm Sunday following the anointing of those ashes from last year reflecting on how our hearts have been prepared in order to enter as fully as possible into the celebrations of this year’s Triduum. As palm was transformed into ashes, how have I undergone my own transformation by my Lenten practices? I’ve observed over the years that there is almost a sadness as Lent ends. Lent seems to provide the needed spiritual backbone to engage in choices that lead to more balanced living and helps create interior space. Lent also provides an opportunity to stretch oneself, to make choices that I wouldn’t even consider outside of Lent. This stretching helps us touch in to how Jesus was stretched in entering in to his Passion. Scott Lewis SJ wrote that in contemplating the Passion we should see how far love was willing to go on our behalf and he invites us to ask ourselves each day how far we are willing to go out of love and compassion for others. It is another way of touching into our call to self-emptying love. So Lent for this year comes to an end but hopefully some of the changes we experienced and stretching we did will now become the new palm for next year’s ashes.    

Mary McIntyre, CSJ