“Lent is the gift of time,” explained Fr. Lito Salazar, S.J., as he called the Prep community to prayer during the Ash Wednesday Service. “Forty days packed with grace that reminds us our deepest hunger is for God, the God of mercy and compassion.”
At the start of this 40-day journey, the service was a moment to reflect on the ways prayer, fast, and giving alms can lead us closer to God and closer to our best selves. In his homily, Fr. Bob O’Hare, S.J., compared the experience of Lent to that of cleaning out a locker or backpack: removing old test papers, bringing home clothes in need of washing, and discarding long-forgotten lunches. Go too long without a fresh start, and “Odd smells will start to emanate from your locker…and the longer you wait, the worse it will smell. If you don’t clean out your backpack, its weight and burden will only make it harder to carry.” Lent, then, is a spiritual equivalent to these cleaning rituals, a time to put in the effort to achieve a fresh start.
View highlights from the Ash Wednesday service below…