Ash Wednesday

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.

 Since the Fourth Lateran Council ruled that all Christians were to go to confession at least once a year during Lent, and long before, Christians have been observing this Season. Time flows on and the Church Year rolls around. Here we are, once again.

So then, that is the question.  How will I follow Jesus, as He spends forty days in the wilderness? My life seems pretty calm just now, but even in relative peace I know He has walked this path before and along side as I walk my journey.

Rarely does anyone want to contemplate our mortality, but as Br. Thomas Merton says:

"THE cross, with which the ashes are traced upon us, is the sign of Christ's victory over death. The words "Remember that thou art dust and that to dust thou shall return" are not to be taken as the quasi-form of a kind of "sacrament of death" (as if such a thing were possible). It might be good stoicism to receive a mere reminder of our condemnation to die, but it is not Christianity."

So then, there it is, how will I follow Jesus, as He spends forty days in the wilderness? How will you, my readers?  What spiritual practices will you pick up this Lent, what distractions will you shed?

May the ashes of this Wednesday will be to all of us a sign of our mortality and penitence, and also a reminder that only by His gracious Gift that everlasting Life is promised anew; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.
Remember, human, that you are dust, and to dust you will return
--Genesis 3:19

Comments

[Monk-in-Training]

Patrica,
It appears the owners of the image prefer to restrict the usage, so I removed it.

Thanks for pointing it out, my policy is to give credit where I can, and if I don't know, I will make it right as soon as I can.

:)

[Monk-in-Training]

Patricia,
if you are the original artist, I would be happy to give you citation or to remove it, however you would like.

[Patricia]

Fascinating. I can tell you exactly when it was first put on the Web :)

[Monk-in-Training]

Patrica,
Are you speaking of the ashen Cross? I got it from googling images. It is all over the web.

[Patricia]

Gosh, your image looks really familiar to me. Really familiar. Where did you get it?

[Mike]

Thanks for your post and the words of Merton. The ashes that call us to remember our mortality also invite us to trust death. I think of the ashes as not only a reminder of our mortal nature but also a reminder of our creation from sacred dust. Peace and a holy Lent, Mike