REMINDERS OF OUR POTENTIAL
Many people think that Ash Wednesday is a Holy Day of Obligation, but it is not, perhaps because in today’s Gospel, Jesus us to do exactly the opposite of what we do on this day. Jesus tells us, “When you fast, anoint your head and wash you face, so that others may not see that you are fasting.”
So why, on this day of fasting, do we put dirt on our face?
At the beginning of this season of Lent, I would like to suggest that the ashes on your forehead serve as a reminder of your potential.
We believe that from death comes life. It is not only a tenant of our faith, but seen all around us in the cycle of life. Just like a forest that has burned, so have many of us experienced suffering and loss this past year. And just like the remains of a forest, we now enter this season so that light may penetrate to depths that before we not possible.
But how do we allow the light of Christ to penetrate us?
CLICK HERE for the Readings on Ash Wednesday: (Joel 2.12-18; Ps 51; 2 Corinthians 5.20-6.2; Matthew 6.1-6, 16-18]
Dear Father Chris,
Thank you. I truly appreciate being able to listen again, more deeply to better absorb the wisdom of your homilies.
Carolyne