Shedding the layers

“All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wonder are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes of fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring,

Renewed shall be blade that was broken

The crownless again shall be King.”

C.S Lewis

The sensation of the spring in South Bend is indescribable. Numbingly cold temperatures became the norm this winter, and double digits were rare at one point. I kept my body wrapped in thick layers of clothing. It wasn’t likely to make eye contact with people walking to and from class because everyone was bundled up so tight in their hoods, hats and scarves. It was a challenge to recognize people sometimes. And alas, the birds are singing their favorite tunes, the grass is visible, bikes dusted off and hearts rejuvenated. People have started to take off their winter layers.

I think this somehow reflects what happens to our souls during lent. We take off the layers. We shed ourselves of sin, brokenness and filth and become new again. That dead top layer of skin comes off and we stand before God as ourselves, stripped down to the core of who we really are. The beautiful thing is that we are loved in this very state. Just as a tree must go through that period of bareness and apparent death before life blooms forth, our souls experience a similar pattern. Our triumphs are born from the struggles we face on the battlefield. Our newness is found in Christ our Savior, who endured the most unimaginable death known to mankind. Why must we wait for spring to feel this way? I think that we can encounter this newness each and every day, but the Lenten season just makes it more noticeable. We have chosen to make some kind of sacrifice for 40 days in order to unite ourselves to the cross that is our only hope.

"The weakness of all human sufferings are capable of being infused with the same power of God manifested in Christ's Cross...in him God has confirmed his desire to act especially through suffering..Christ achieved the Redemption completely and to the very limits but at the same time he did not bring it to a close ...every form of suffering, given fresh life by the power of this Cross, should become no longer the weakness of man but the power of God." -JPII on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes 1984

SPES UNICA is a motto rooted in the foundation of Saint Mary’s College. This is Latin for “ONLY HOPE”. I am reminded when I hear those words that because of the cross, we have hope of what is to come and what Christ has in store for us. I am reminded of this hope with each new blossom that bursts fourth from what seemed to be dead. As Easter draws near there is a new sense of hope in the restoration that God offers our broken and dirty hearts that have been covered with layers of sin and human weakness. He restores our hearts if we simply COME AS WE ARE. When we shed our layers off, we become vulnerable. When we become vulnerable, letting go of our attachments and securities, all we are left with is Jesus and his cross. When we are left with just this, when we crucify ourselves to the other side of the cross, we are able to fully experience the power of redemption. We allow him to make all things new inside our hearts. His love is our hope. The cross is our hope because the cross is love.

“Renewed shall be blade that was broken

The crownless again shall be King”