Ashes to ashes

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the penitential season of Lent, a time for us to look within ourselves and receive the call to metanoia, a change of heart, a change in the way we judge ourselves and others, to reflect better our call as followers of Jesus.

The ashes we receive on this day recall our ultimate fragility as human beings and the fact that our life on this earth will eventually come to an end, and that we rely on God’s mercy for our very existence.

The liturgy today invites us to be reconciled with God and with our neighbor and to enter into a period of prayer and reflection on how life has been for us and on how God is inviting us to move forward to make the most of the time we are given.

May this holy season be for you a graced time of repentance and renewal, a time for you to grow closer to the Lord, and may the imposition of ashes be a reminder of our mortality and our call to turn away from whatever separates us from the Lord.

“Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2)