Ash Wednesday

Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return. Ash Wednesday is a beautiful liturgy and a sign not only of our own mortality and humanity, but of the divine gift of love that is found in the person of Jesus Christ as we begin the Lenten season in reconciliation and penance. In the Gospel today we hear Jesus speaking on what has later developed in the tradition of our Church to be the three pillars of Lent: Prayer, Fasting, and Alms giving. We are told to “go to your inner room” when we are to pray. To keep the connection that we have with God personal and intimate, so that it may not be a show for others to view, but a loving response back to our creator. When we fast, we are to do so without others knowing, and to be joyful and happy in the midst of fasting. Fasting is a physical discipline to help us to understand the spiritual conversation all of us are called to during this season of Lent. Finally, when we give alms, we should do it so that we do not let our “left hand know what our right hand is doing”. We are to give in secret, to be able to give from the heart, not based on our material wealth for others to compare to. This lent, be mindful of how you are being called to conversion, and what that means for you in this stage of your life. When you decide what you are going to be doing in the sense of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, understand that this is a time for your continual conversion to God to prosper and take deeper root, and that this time is meant for you to explore yourself deeper spiritually and to know, love, and serve the Lord in all ways.

Reflection: What does conversion look like for me this lent?

Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness; in your abundant compassion blot out my offense. Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me. (Psalm 51:3-4)