Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“If only I could start over again!” I find myself muttering this phrase to myself on so many occasions. A flippant comment that sounded quite funny while it was still in my head, but no sooner have I said it than I realise it might be hurtful or taken wrongly. “Oh, if only I could start over again!” Faced with a question that I find challenging, a situation about which I feel uncertain, a person with whom I feel insecure, I can say the wrong thing, behave awkwardly, give out the wrong signals and instead of stopping I dig a deeper hole or paint myself into a corner. “If only I could start over again!” Missed opportunities, messed up relationships, lack of clear thinking, complete misunderstandings, ill-advised decisions, painful consequences – “If only I could start over again!”
And the usual reply that comes back to me in all these circumstances spoken by the voices of long-dead authority figures in my life is: “You’ve made your own bed, now lie on it! It’s your responsibility, it’s your choice, it’s your doing, it’s your fault; now live with it!” And I think to myself; “Yes, I do deserve it. I have to live with it. There is no way out. But, if only I could start over again!”
Sisters and Brothers, today is the first Sunday of Lent and we begin our spiritual journey together that will lead us via the path of conversion and penance, along the road of Jesus’ last week on earth. We will pass through the room of the Last Supper, to the Garden of Gethsemane, up to the Hill of Golgotha and the Crucifixion, down into the Tomb and finally we will reach the luminous moment of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. As we reflect and take stock of our relationship with God, with one another as Christians and with all we meet, I am sure, like me, you will experience in some way those “if-only-I-could-start-over-again-moments”. However, if you also hear voices of authority from the past reminding you, “You’ve made your own bed, now lie on it,” don’t listen because we have an even greater voice of authority telling us something different. Listen to what we are told in the Letter to the Romans: “Both Jew and pagan sinned and forfeited God’s glory, and both are justified through the free gift of his grace by being redeemed in Christ Jesus who was appointed by God to sacrifice his life so as to win reconciliation through faith.” (Romans 3.23-25)
It is true that left to myself there would be no way out. No matter how many times I want to start over again, there is no chance. I have indeed made my own bed and there is nothing more to do than lie on it. However, as we have just heard in the Letter to the Romans, I am not on my own, we are not on our own. Through the free gift of grace, we are redeemed in Christ Jesus by the sacrifice of his life. What we cannot do for ourselves, God has done for us in Christ Jesus. And it’s all free. All we have to do is to believe and accept it. But for some of us that is easier said than done. We think that we have to earn it. We feel we have to deserve it. Just listen to what the Holy Father says in his message for Lent this year.

“Conversion to Christ, believing in the Gospel, ultimately means this: to exit the illusion of self-sufficiency in order to discover and accept one’s own need – the need of others and God, the need of His forgiveness and His friendship. Humility is required to accept that I need Another to free me from “what is mine,” to give me gratuitously “what is His.” This happens especially in the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.”

I am always happy to remind myself and you, brothers and sisters, that Lent is a time when we can look forward in joy to the Paschal Triduum. It is not a time for dreariness or misery. It is a time for reflection, particularly reflection on God’s Word and allowing God’s Word to really take root in our lives, so that we can live our lives according to the way of Jesus, and the values of his Gospel.
The good news that needs to take root in our lives is the simple message that in Christ Jesus and through his sacrifice we can start over again; there is the possibility of a new start and a fresh beginning. All the means are being offered to us each and every day and especially each and every celebration of the Sunday liturgy during these special days of Lent. Listen carefully to what the Lord is saying to you; open your hearts to allow his word to take root and be prepared to act on it. Our Sunday Eucharist is a sacred and precious moment for us all.
Make use of the sacrament of Reconciliation. Every time you hear yourself say: “If only I could start over again,” recognise it as an invitation to a fresh start, a new beginning. Be humble enough to accept that you cannot do this on your own; it is only through the sacrifice of Christ’s own life that we can be reconciled and justified. Avail yourself of this great gift and so that by the free gift of grace we can all begin again and journey onwards together to share Christ’s paschal meal in purity of heart until we come to its fulfilment in the promised land of heaven.
Yours in blessed hope,