Is it appropriate to say “Happy Ash Wednesday”? It doesn’t sound right, but I’m going to say that to you regardless. The Lent Season is upon us; this annual season of preparing for the Resurrection of the Lord, the event that defeated Death.
Lent is a time to renew our Baptismal commitment. With our baptism, original sin was washed away, but we being humans, continue to need cleansing from our sins. Original Sin may have been washed away, but we still have the seven deadly sins: Pride, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, Anger, Greed, Sloth.
Our sins are the actions and thoughts that keep us separate from God. The Ashes of today are symbolic of that. In the book of Esther, when Mordecai learned that all Jews were to be annihilated, he turned to God by shredding his clothes, putting on sack cloth and ashes. The Jews turned fervently toward God with fasting, weeping and lament.
The ashes we wear today are symbolic of repentance and of our morality. They are an opportunity to spread the good news to our friends and neighbors, because you know that someone will tell you that there is a smudge on your forehead!
What can you tell them?
• I am preparing for Lent. It’s a time of repentance and new life. How are you preparing for Easter?
• Today is the first day of Lent; a time when the Catholic faithful spend 40 days renewing their faith in preparation for Easter.
• Yes, I have a smudge. Only Pagans can see it! (just kidding )
Ash Wednesday is also a day of fasting. In this tradition, we should slow our lives down to fully immerse ourselves in the scripture of the day, the prayerfulness of the season, and the preparations for a 40 day walk through Lent. With jobs and families to attend to, these moments of reflection may last only a few moments, but it’s important to take those moments regardless of the time we have. I know I will not starve if I only eat three small meals today. It’s the discipline of denying myself that which is readily available, giving something up so I may understand hunger. Instead of food, today I will feed myself on the Word of God. And perhaps tomorrow, I will hunger for it as strongly as I crave a sandwich. How different will I be at the end of 40 days if my main meal is the Word of God?
My prayer for all of us on the Ash Wednesday…
Lord,
We have burned the palms from last year’s Palm Sunday, the day we welcomed you into our cities as King. In burning the palms, we recognize our failures in the past years; all our good intentions that failed, our broken promises, the truth of our imperfections have been reduced to ash. We wear the cross of your salvation on our foreheads to mark in thanksgiving the ultimate sacrifice of your life. Through your death, you raised the souls from hell to eternal light. Through these ashes, we prepare our Lenten experience to be a sacrifice of worldly things so we can fully understand and accept the heavenly graces you have given us. Lord, we offer you our sacrifices as a means to know you more, to serve your will, to share your good news. We anxiously await your resurrection, the new life of the Kingdom of Heaven. Lord Jesus, be with us during our 40 day walk through the desert. Give us strength to abandon our earthly vices, and fill our hearts and minds with your love.
We pray all this through your name, Jesus Christ.
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