Chris Cuomo, Catholic

After I returned home from all the Ash Wednesday liturgies last night, I collapsed on the couch, picked up the remote, and one of the first things I saw on TV was this.

It’s not that uncommon to see prominent figures showing their ashes on Ash Wednesday, but seeing a broadcaster of Cuomo’s stature doing it on CNN was a jolt.

It was also a blessing.

It is good to see a fellow sinner professing his desire for repentance.

Some commenters on social media were less impressed. There was a lot of tsk-tsking and finger-wagging and righteous remarks along the lines of “He has a lot to atone for.”

I will just add this, a comment I left on one post, that should serve (I hope) as a reminder to us all, because we so easily forget:

It’s Lent. Last Sunday’s Gospel set the stage for all of us for these 40 days. We all need to do better. And that begins here and now.

I think we can all agree that for a broadcaster of Cuomo’s stature, wearing ashes on prime time television was something unabashedly bold. (So was his verbal sparring with a congressman several months back who blithely misused the phrase “Immaculate Conception,” prompting Cuomo to publicly school him on what that actually means.) Let us be grateful that in this day and age, considering the state of the Church, he is not ashamed to declare he is one of us and that he is also a work in progress.

And let us pray that he will arrive at Holy Thursday a better Catholic than he was on Ash Wednesday.

That should be the prayer of all of us.

Wish him well. Pray for him.

Pray for all of us. We all need it.

It’s Lent. 

Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned…