Open Your Hands – Open Your Hearts
Lenten Reconciliation Service

Come with me oh pilgrim
And harden not your heart
Walk with me
The pathways of peace

On a cloudy Sunday afternoon, participants in the Lenten Reconciliation Service were offered a challenge: spend five minutes reflecting and asking “Jesus come to me and teach me resurrection.” The challenge, proposed by Fr. Jim Debruycker, concluded an afternoon of song, meditation and prayer where we were absolved of our sins and encouraged to let go obstacles that prevent us from seeing the face of God.

The reconciliation service, titled “Open Your Hands – Open Your Hearts,” continued St. Joan’s Lenten theme “Come.” We were given stones upon entering the church and were asked to squeeze the stones periodically throughout the service. The stones represented those things that stand in the way of us being open, reaching out, and being able to “come.” While squeezing them, we were asked to think about the things that prevent us from seeing what truly “is” and keep us from recognizing the gifts that God gives us. Some examples of stones to consider included:

Stones were symbols not only in our hands but also in the images projected on the screens and in the choice of readings. A reading “The Stone Heart” by Nahum Hersom and Chief Whirling Thunder, told the story of how a giant’s stone heart was cast out for a real heart so he could experience the human feelings of love, warmth, compassion, and patience. A reading from Ezekiel (11, 14-20) told a similar account of God taking the stony heart out of his people and giving them a heart of flesh and “they shall be my people and I their God.” A reading from John told us to release what is in the way of doing what God wants. Finally, the Gospel reading told the familiar story of the woman about to be stoned for her sins until Jesus commands that those without sin cast the first stone.

The themes of stones, opening ourselves, and being present to God were ever present in the music by the St. Joan of Arc Choir. Their hymn “Healer of My Soul,” spoke about God’s presence in our lives to protect us, heal us, and keep us from the snares of sin. Their responsorial psalm told us to “Still come—come see the face of God; Come—it is all a gift; Come—it is anew.” Later in the service, their meditation/response challenged us:

Come with me oh pilgrim
And harden not your heart
Walk with me
The pathways of peace

The service highlight came when we were asked to meditate on the nature of our stone and then cast the stone away. We were asked to consider:

After this meditation, we filed up to the front of church, cast our stones into waiting baskets, and then turned to our neighbor saying: “Open your hands, open your heart, go in peace.” With renewed freshness and energy, we sang and recited the Lord’s Prayer. We also received Fr. Jim’s five-minute challenge:
Jeanne Morales has been active at St. Joans for the past few years. She loves working in her garden, attending the St. Joan of Arc Bible Study and sneaking off for camping trips when she has time. Jeanne can be reached at moralesj@Macalester.edu.
“Jesus come to me and teach me resurrection.”

The reconciliation service was a wonderful, refreshing moment to consider how to remove the barriers in our lives so we can connect more deeply to God. It did not dwell heavily on sin but on how we may have lost our ability to see the “face of God” in those things around us. In this way, it was productive and affirming. Father Jim’s challenge, not penance, was also a refreshing way to guide us this coming year. I left the service feeling light – from the unloading of my stone, from the messages I received, and from the fellowship I shared at the reception following the service. It was a wonderful way to wind up the Lenten season and head into the Easter celebration.

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