40 Crosses for 40 Day: 4th Cross - The Limitless Love Cross

At Mass on Ash Wednesday, we sang the song "Ashes," by Tom Conry. (A video of it is embedded below.)

Here we are, four days later, and that song is still rolling around in my brain. I keep repeating these lyrics in particular:

We rise again from ashes,
from the good we've failed to do.

We rise again from ashes,
to create ourselves anew.

Give our stumblings direction,
give our visions wider view.

An offering of ashes,
an offering to you.

The Limitless Love Cross, shown above, images these words. The silver cross is the color of ashes and is formed in the shape of the infinity symbol, pictured below.

The words "God's love is limitless" are emblazoned across the horizontal arm, and there's a small gold heart slowly rising up the vertical arm, as though it is ascending, ever so gradually, up to Heaven.

This cross reminds us of the gift of Lent, of becoming ashes.  Of trying and failing.  Of getting up and struggling again, offering God our wobbly attempts of prayer and presence, of "gifts not fully given, of dreams not fully dreamt."  Lent gives us the chance to realize that God is not just demanding perfection, but rather, is very pleased with all the trying and the striving, with the little bits and pieces we try to offer up.  He already knows we can't be perfect on our own because then we would have no need for Jesus, and we are all very much in need of Christ. 

That's why we are invited to contemplate our eventual return to ashes. What can possibly be lower or more worthless than the dust left after a fire? Nothing.  Yet, paradoxically, this is what God asks of us, to submit to fire.  But not just any fire. St. Paul reminds us that "our God is a consuming fire." (Heb.12:29) The ashes we are to become are a result of God's fire, of his purifying presence through which we are remade. How many times must we, like the phoenix, die in a heap of ashes so that we can be reborn and rise to new life again?  How many times will we cycle through Ash Wednesday and the 40 days of Lent, to rise with Christ on Easter Sunday? Only God knows. But this cross reminds us that "God's love is limitless."  So long as we are willing to keep on becoming ashes, we will eventually be perfected into the people God imagined at our creation, at our conception. Our golden hearts will eventually emerge from the ashes, because God doesn't run out of time, patience, or a fiery nature.

 Let us pray: Holy Trinity, thank you for letting us collapse into ashes. Help us remember we are perfected by Your fire and Your presence and help us to participate in both the best we can. And in all things, let us praise you.  Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen. 

The Strawberry Vine - Cultivating A Catholic Imagination