BRIDGEPORT—Paul Jarzembowski’s newly published book, “Hope from the Ashes,” (Paulist Press, 2022, 208 pp) is not only a timely arrival during the Lenten Season, it’s an invitation to rediscover Lenten observance, open our hearts, and invite people to return to Church.
Jarzembowski, who serves on the staff of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C., within the Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, is steeped in the theology of the Lenten journey, but able to translate it anew with particular relevance to understanding the ‘nones’ and others who are alienated from the Church or are looking to rekindle their faith.
Though his focus remains prayerfully and comprehensively on the experience of Lent, Jarzembowski also has much to say about the “New Evangelization” and, beginning with Ash Wednesday, the opportunity to reach out to those who may only be in the pews once or twice a year.
While his writing reflects a wide range of pastoral experience and a learned sociological understanding of the challenges people face, he also sees through the eyes of the ordinary layman who is in church on Sunday and perhaps concerned that his own children or other family members no longer join him.
Jarzembowski’s solution is not to get defensive—but to enthusiastically and joyfully get to work! His book is full of practical advice and suggestions on how to celebrate our spirituality while engaging others, sharing the faith and making the most of pathways to rediscovering Lent as a season of return.
When it comes to observing Lent, the writer also pulls out all the stops to encourage accompaniment. With his chapter on the “Digital Component,” he demonstrates his understanding of social media and the “digital sharing of ashes” and the sense of identity and belonging that they confer.
“On Ash Wednesday, as people turn to their mobile devices or scroll through social media, they begin to see friends—from active churchgoers to those less active in their faith—post selfies with ashes on their forehead or sharing details about the #AshWednesday experience. These posts remind social media users to visit a church or seek out someone distributing ashes…” he writes.
From Ash Wednesday through Holy Week, Jarzembowski gives the reader the tools and resources to re-examine and reinvigorate their Lenten practice including fasting, almsgiving, and making the most of “moments of return.” He also generously shares his own faith honestly and authentically in a way that challenges, affirms and inspires.
An extra bonus for diocesan readers is a brief but memorable foreword by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano, who recommends the book both as a practical guide and its insights and advice on how to connect with people who are searching for God but lack the support of a faith community.
“There are memories that I will never forget, for they are all about ashes,” Bishop Caggiano writes as he remembers receiving his ashes alongside his mother when he was a young boy.
”These vivid images from my youth remind me of the primordial power that ashes have to call us to silence, reflection, prayer and witness. It was a time in my early faith formation that did not require words or lesson plans. It required only an encounter with ashes.”
Both he and Jarzembowski agree that ashes have an ancient and traditional power to speak to people across time and generations and that even many of the unaffiliated young people of today are drawn to their meaning.
In the concluding chapter, the author recalls the sensation of walking up a steep Roman hill to the Basilica of Santa Sabina, where a Christian community has occupied the land since the second century.
“Stepping into this holy place today, whether, on Ash Wednesday or any other day of the year, any visitor can feel the noise and calamity of their world outside suddenly cease, and a future hope, firmly grounded in the past yet also fully aware of the present begins to emerge, This is the place where countless Christians began their Lenten journeys.”
While absorbing the beauty of tradition and the continuity of experience, the author also reminds us that “Our Lenten season often begins in our local churches, on train platforms and at community centers, in parking lots and schools or wherever ashes may be distributed. Most of Lent takes place at home, the domestic church, and among friends or family in private moments of prayer and contemplation.”
Though the author offers an informed and perceptive analysis of the challenges and obstacles facing the Church, he is hopeful and has a steadfast belief in the power of Ash Wednesday and Lent to renew our lives.
“Ash Wednesday and Lent are resilient in and of themselves. The ashes have always been part of the Christian story and will be part of our story long after we are gone from the earth.”
Whether the reader is a priest or religious, youth leader, director of Religious Education, or a layperson seeking to deepen his or her devotion, this is a book that offers much during Lent and in other seasons. To order a copy of “Hope from the Ashes,” visit: www.paulistpress.com/Products/5575-0/hope-from-the-ashes.aspx
