Lenten Symbol:  The Knotted Cross

We tend to tie our struggles to the image of bearing our cross. Yet, for Christians, the cross is a symbol of both suffering and triumph over suffering—the glory of the Cross. Death does not win—love triumphs over evil.
 
This year’s Lenten symbol is a cross tied to a purple rope with one knot. Reflect on the knots in your life and tie one knot each week during the 5 weeks of Lent. What are the “knots” that keep you from being your best possible self? Pray with your cross, even fingering that knot, asking God for true change in those behaviors, attitudes, and roadblocks to freedom from these ways. This kind of conversion is what Lent is all about—the kind that brings real freedom to loving, healthy relationships with others and with God.
 
Lent, the springtime of the Church’s seasons, is an opportunity to look those knots square in the face and choose to undo those things in ourselves. Through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving we can bring about change in our behavior and way of thinking. This is the conversion we seek, something more than surface change or temporary restraint. This is the conversion that sets us free.
 
Our Ash Wednesday psalm seems to put the words on our lips.
“thoroughly wash me from my guilt…for I acknowledge my offense.  Give me back the joy of your salvation.”