Ash Wednesday and Haiti

I'm starting the holy season of Lent in Port Au Prince, Haiti, where I've been for the last three days. Although our group from Hands Together is returning today, this Ash Wednesday in Haiti puts the coming days of Lent into perspective for us as we come home to snowy Massachusetts. 

We have seen the poorest of the poor here in the Cite du Soleil and in Gonaïves.

We have seen children who have nothing, and who live without much hope of a better future. 

But we have also seen the work of the Church and of other organizations that help to restore this hope through education, food programs, ecological renewal, and most importantly love. 

Through the work of Hands Together, we have seen the most desert covered mountains turned into life sustaining forests. 

We have seen new life and hope in Haiti.

And so as we begin Ash Wednesday, all that we are and have is put into perspective. 

It is easier to give up what we truly don't need, because there are people out there who don't have what they truly need. 

It is easier to fast in solidarity with those who hunger. 

It is easier to pray to our God who gives us life, because there are those who live in danger of losing theirs each day. 

It is easier to start Lent in Haiti. I hope and pray that your prayer, fasting, and almsgiving have the poorest of the poor in mind.