A BENEDICTINE LENT

 

Abbot Clement Ettaniyil OSB

St Thomas Benedictine Abbey, Kappadu.

 

In every age, the Church returns to the desert.

Not to escape the world…But to hear God again. The desert is not a place. It is a discipline. A return to the heart.

 

For fifteen centuries, the sons of St. Benedict have walked this path: in silence, in prayer, in community.

 

In this Lentern season, from St. Thomas Benedictine Abbey, we invite you to walk with us.

 

 ASH WEDNESDAY

“Remember You Are Dust". But Dust Called to Glory”... 

 

My dear brothers and sisters,

Today, the Church marks our foreheads with ashes and speaks words that are at once humbling and liberating:

“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

These words are not meant to frighten us. They are meant to free us.

St Benedict wrote in his Rule; Chapter 49: On the Observance of Lent.

It is surprisingly gentle. He does not command extreme penances. He does not demand heroic fasting. He simply says:

“During these days of Lent,

let us wash away the negligences of other times.”

 

Wash away….

Not punish.

Not dramatize.

Not perform.

 

Wash…..

Lent, according to St. Benedict, is not spiritual violence. It is spiritual clarity.

We live in restless times. Everywhere, the same challenge: Noise, speed, competition, expectation, performance….

Ash Wednesday interrupts all of that.

It places dust on ambition. It places humility on ego. It places eternity on our schedules.

 

And Benedict would say to us today:

Add something. Remove something..... 

But do it with joy. He writes that whatever we offer in Lent

should be given “with the joy of the Holy Spirit.”

 

Joy — not gloom.

Resolve — not rigidity.

 

Let us be practical.

If you wish to walk a Benedictine Lent,

choose three things.

 

First: One hidden renunciation. Not something dramatic. Something quiet. Something that only God notices.

 

Second: One added moment of prayer.

 

Some extra minutes of Scripture each day.

Read slowly. Listen. Do not rush.

The Rule begins with one word: “Listen.”

Lent begins the same way.

 

Third: One relationship to heal.

 

A phone call.

A forgiveness.

A conversation delayed too long.

 

If ashes remind us that we are dust, they also remind us

that dust can be reconciled.

 

But let us go deeper.

Why ashes?

Because dust tells the truth. Dust tells us we are not self-made.

Dust tells us we are not permanent. Dust tells us we are not God.

 

And that is good news. Because when we stop pretending to be God,

we become free to become human.

 

The Gospel today says,

“When you fast, do not look gloomy…

When you pray, go to your room…

When you give alms, do not let your left hand know…”

 

In other words:

Lent is not a performance.

It is purification of intention.

For a monk, this is essential.

For a Christian, this is urgent.

For a Christian leader, this is non-negotiable.

If we preach repentance

but live in ego, our words will have no weight.

But if we quietly live what we preach, our silence will speak.

 

What does the Church expect from a Benedictine monk/nun during Lent?

 

Not activism.Not visibility. Depth. Interior conversion.

Stability….Obedience of heart.

The monk who truly lives Lent becomes different by Easter.

More patient.

Less reactive.

More attentive.

Less defensive.

More peaceful.

 

And when he returns to the pulpit, or to the classroom,

or to  the confessional,

or to the parish office…

 

People will feel the difference.

 

They may not know why.

But they will sense it.

 

Because resurrection is not only proclaimed.

It is embodied.

 

So today, as ashes are placed upon us, Do not think of endings.

Think of beginning again. Ash Wednesday is not about death.

It is about honesty. And honesty is the first step toward resurrection.

Let this Lent be simple.

Let it be sincere.

Let it be Benedictine.

 

Not loud.

Not dramatic.

But steady.

If you walk these forty days

with intention,

with humility,

with quiet discipline,

 

Easter will not surprise you.

It will complete you.

 

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus Christ,

You entered the desert, not to escape the world

but to redeem it. Teach us this Lent to listen with the ear of the heart.

Strip away what is false. Strengthen what is weak. Heal what is divided.

May these ashes not mark shame but awakening.

 

And may we, who remember that we are dust,

discover that dust can shine with glory.

 

Amen.