If Advent is the season of preparation and a reminder of the core elements of our Christian faith, then Lent is the dark, challenging part of our faith, a time where the readings are heavy and challenging, ending ultimately with Jesus’s death on the Cross. While the resurrection on Easter Sunday is important, I feel that there are a few more messages that are often overlooked. As I have been thinking about Lent for the last couple of weeks, my mind continues to come back to the question, “what side of the cross do you stand on?” A lot of comparisons and allusions to the past are made here in American and abroad these days about what is going on. As a young man studying the Catholic Worker movement and Social Work at Gannon University in the 90’s, the Civil Rights movement, the death of Oscar Romero and other crucial 20th century peace and justice events were fresh in the memories of many of my professors and shaped what side of the cross I would stand on. Now, as I look around at the rhetoric of the MAGA movement, based on my education and experiences, I feel standing with Christ is taking up the cross with the poor and marginalized. This is a struggle that even Jesus’ disciples dealt with, most importantly, Peter who denies Jesus in his critical moment of need. Being consistent in our verbal convictions and physical actions is costly.
Which Side of the Cross?
I read a post recently that offered these thoughts, “Any ideology that disciples you to fear, dismiss, or devalue others instead of love them is anti – Christ – no matter how many bible verses it quotes.” this was offered by a digital creator going by the handle Pastor Brandon. The response I got from this from a follower of my stuff basically defended a Christian Nationalist point of view. Speaking specifically of love, the author of the response said that while you can value love, this does not mean unconditional acceptance into every privilege. The problem with this statement is the notion of Christ is universal love. The essence of Christ is love and is central to the bible. Jesus was a brown skinned first century Palestinian Jew whose whole story arc is of an oppressed man of a historically oppressed people. Jesus and later the letters point followers to rise up above the anger and hate of their oppressors and offer love. This is not only Jesus’s story, it is the Jewish heritage he grew up, building community and looking out for others.
The Benedictine Sister, Joan Chittister offers in her reflection for Ash Wednesday, “The Lenten Gospels reveal to us that in times of temptation, in times of bafflement, in times of discrimination, in times in need of healing, in times marked on all sides by death and despair, there is the option to follow the path of Jesus the Prophet. The one who revealed truth, defended the weak, brought peace, and always, always, always stood up to protest injustice calls to us throughout time and does the same today.” Lent and ultimately Easter challenge us to choose a side of the cross to stand on. Do we like Peter turn away or do we take up the cross with Simon and stand boldly with Jesus and call out injustice as it rears its head in our society?
Ash Wednesday and Memento Mori
In the Christian tradition, memento mori is not “remember you will die” as a threat. It is remembering your life is precious, finite, and accountable. Ash Wednesday is the Church’s annual recalibration of the soul. It is the most embodied “memento mori” moment in the Christian year. The Church literally places mortality on our foreheads and says out loud what we spend most of our lives trying not to think about:
“You are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
But that phrase is not meant to crush us. It’s meant to wake us up. Ash Wednesday challenges us to face these truths:
Truth 1: We are dust
- We are fragile
- We are temporary
- We are not God
- We cannot save ourselves
Truth 2: We are beloved dust
- God breathes into dust
- God calls dust by name
- God redeems dust
- God raises dust from the grave
Ash Wednesday is not a humiliation ritual.
It is a humility ritual—a return to reality.
This season, as we receive ashes and contemplate our mortality, we are called not only to remember our fragility but also to reflect on where we align ourselves in the story of Christ’s passion. The challenge of Lent is not merely about personal sacrifice or abstaining from comforts, but rather about examining whether our lives embody the radical compassion and justice that Jesus modeled, especially toward those who are excluded or suffering. As we journey through these weeks, may we find the courage to answer the question honestly and let it shape our words and deeds in the world around us.
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