Upon reading this, I couldn’t help but think back to the time of COVID-19 when everyone had to wear masks. I was an on-campus Student when the virus broke out, and it was very challenging, especially for us international students who had just arrived. It was difficult for us to identify people since their faces were covered. Communicating was even more challenging, as people could hardly understand us through the masks; our lips were hidden from view. Yes, we did face many obstacles during that time.
And yet, the masks made me think of my country. In my country, we have a beautiful cultural tradition called Carnival, which takes place during the first part of Ordinary Time. It’s a vibrant event, at least before the country was transformed into what it is today.
During this time, we disguise and wear masks, which serve to express not only our joy and cheerfulness but also our sense of belonging to a people and its culture. We assume different roles and strive to be different, at least for a brief moment. On Shrove Tuesday, we burn those masks, and we enter the Lenten season. This is where the first Reading and the Gospel for this weekend come in: it’s easier for us to notice the faults and errors of others than to see their qualities; and we convince ourselves that we need to correct them…
Thus, it begs the following questions:
Don’t we often forget that we are not always in the best position to correct others? Do I truly know my neighbor sitting next to me? Am I aware of my own true self? It’s easy to notice others, but how does God see me behind all the masks and disguises I wear every day? Yes, every day!
This is why, in the Gospel, Jesus often refers to daily experiences, emphasizing what He calls hypocrisy. He stresses our false self-representation. We wish to be seen not as we are but under our disguises and masks.
Yes, in daily life, we often seek to appear better than others. We hide behind a “mask” by not showing ourselves as we are. In doing that, we end up putting ourselves on a higher level than others, and it separates us. Social networks are a great help.
In contrast, when people offer love and trust to one another, relationships become more relaxed and enjoyable. We become connected. This shift occurs because everyone shows their true self, without a mask, embracing their weaknesses and imperfections.
Life experience also teaches that when people know each other well, and trust one another, they are more likely to open their hearts to others. When we accept ourselves and others with love, we move forward in a climate of trust in which “Love and Truth meet, Justice and Peace kiss” (Ps 85/84, 11). And our relationships will be like a palm tree, like a cedar of Lebanon that grows constantly and, even in old age, still bears fruit, keeping its vigor and its sturdiness (Resp. Psalm).
Jesus reminds us that our life is like a tree. To bear good fruit, we must first let ourselves be fashioned by Him. He is the Vine, and we are the branches: without Him, we will remain barren. He is the Light of the world. We must also let ourselves be enlightened by Him. Without Him, we will remain in our blindness. In other words: only a personal relationship with Jesus and a response to His continuous call to daily conversion can transform a heart of stone into a heart of flesh.
God loves every one of us personally, as we are. He still loves us even with our masks. Nonetheless, He invites us to remove them to reach our best selves, as He did with the prodigal son and the woman caught in adultery. In a few days, this upcoming Wednesday, we will enter Lent. Let us have the courage to approach Jesus in truth and confidence. He has probed us. He knows everything and sees deep into our hearts. He knows us as we are (Ps 139). So, there is no need to hide or wear a mask before Him.
May He grant us the grace to take a step forward and make us vigorous and sturdy trees, bearing good fruit, not just for a time but every day of our lives.