Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the 40 days of preparation for the Easter season when Christians are called to deepen their spiritual lives through the practices of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.

How about you?  How are you approaching this Lent?  What will the ashes placed on your head in a few moments mean for you today and the next day and the next day?  Because these forty days are a time when we are called to look at our life… look at what we are doing… and seeing what change is needed in order to be more open to God.

Often we manifest this Lenten change into more of a New Year’s resolution in deciding what we will give up – like sweets or facetime or other behaviors.  Or you may be looking to take on a more positive view of Lent by deciding what you will start doing – like more exercise or more prayer or a greater outreach to others.

All those options are good, but keep in mind we are called to a different kind of change.  We are called to a transformation, a turning around.  And to this end it is not something that we can just do on our own.  For rather we are called to reach out to our spouse, our children, our parents, our teachers, our friends - so that we can help each other to this change.

Did you ever take a moment to realize that you cannot see the ashes on your own forehead – rather you can see the ashes on others – on all those that we are called this Lent to be present to, to be a witness to, and to pray with for their transformation as well as our own.  Lent is a time to journey together.

In just a few moments, we will receive each one of us a black cross on our heads.  It reminds us that soon we will return to dust.  And Lent calls us back to basics: prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  Let us turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel.

Paul A. Magnano