Today the Church observes Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent, a time of preparation for entering into the final events of the life of Jesus, his Passion, death, and Resurrection. We mark this day by marking ourselves with ashes.
As you might know, the ashes that we use today come from the burnt palms from last year’s Palm Sunday celebration. We receive the ashes on our forehead with one of two formulas: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return, ” and “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.”
The first of these formulas reminds us that we are finite creatures with a limited amount of time on this earth, and that our life’s journey leads us to eternity in the presence of our loving God and all those who have gone before us. The second formula with the imposition of ashes calls us to live a life of faithfulness to the Spirit of Christ, who dwells in our heart.
So these ashes are a call for us to remember who we are and what we are called to be. They are also a sign–not a sign of how holy we are, but a sign of our willingness to follow the gospel of Jesus, believing that this is the way to the fulness of life.
“Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God.” (Joel 2:13)
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