The season of Lent isn’t a black hole in Catholic history that withholds us from gaining happiness. Rather, it is the constant reminder that our happiness and freedom come from God alone, and His suffering on the cross reminds us of His covenant to happiness and grace for His beloved creation. He suffered because He loves us so much, even unto death on the cross He shall bear to constantly remind us of that joyous Love He bore for us. Lent is about turning around from our selfish ways and looking up to God who, in His glory and power, has looked down on us, humbled himself, and become a part of Creation to display His union with us. The suffering is our constant union that we are never alone. God, whilst abounded in grace, is willing to show love in the fruits of suffering and torment. True Love, in God’s majestic plan, is that of “giving one’s life to another” (John 15:13).

Suffering and atonement are two distinct acts yet deeply intertwined in God’s love. We all suffer because we love, and we atone because we wanted to remain in the oneness of God’s love to His creation. We are bound to be with God, but we must also do our part to enjoin the spirit of suffering and penance to our daily acts. On a human perspective, to suffer and become repentant isn’t human nature. It bores divine roots and can teach us ways on how to be faithful, hopeful, and to love like the Lord who is the tenet of Faith, Hope, and Love - our ultimate Christian virtues.

To suffer is also to stay away from what holds us here on earth and become universally connected to the Divine, which is partly essenced by the spirit that gave us life. Our soul, as universal and cosmic, is God’s gift to man whom He shaped from the ashes of Eden to give us the experience of divine charity and universality, which is resonant of the Lord’s life, death, and resurrection as a salvific act to His beloved. The spirit we bore inside and driving us towards our salvation requires a test of fire - the suffering we have to endure to purify us of our material intentions and polish our spirits to become worthy of the Almighty’s grace - and through God’s example on the cross, we now know how to be at one with the Lord’s divinity and forgo the material attachment we have.

As we begin the season of Lent, may we all be reminded of the Lord’s weary and how it supersedes the material worries we have. May the ashes remind us that we aren’t born to be great, but to do great for the glory of the One who has created us. May the palm’s broken ashes remind us of the humility we have to bear to obtain the salvation we all long for while we live, protect us from all our temptations, and constantly remind us of the Love that God has gratuitously given us, alongside His Faith and Hope that connects Him and His beloved creation.