“We are citizens of a world on fire…”

Last night, I was invited to preside at Evening Prayer at a neighboring parish in Queens.  The good folks over at the Catholic portal at Patheos have posted the homily, which offers a few thoughts about Lent, one week on, and building something out of the ashes:

More than ever before, it seems, we live in an age of ashes. Think of the fires that have lit our world, the embers left behind from so many wars, and so many ruins. Think of the fires of Hiroshima, of Auschwitz, of Vietnam, of Baghdad, of New York.

The fires that still smolder in Japan.

We are citizens of a world on fire.

And yet, we know hope. We believe in beginning again. We repent. We reconcile ourselves with God. We pray. We believe in something better to come: redemption and resurrection. We turn over shovels of ash to start anew.

You can read the whole thing here.