![]() ![]() This is the traditional blessing as the priest distributes ashes to each Catholic on Ash Wednesday. And accept the grace and forgiveness that marks you as a redeemed child of God.“Remember, man, you are dust and unto dust you shall return.” ![]() To learn to walk with Christ and to thank Him for the sacrifice he made for us. Lent is a special time to reaffirm our commitment to Christ and to prepare ourselves for that glorious day of the resurrection. Take time to appreciate life and to understand your mortality on earth and look forward to everlasting life in Christ. And as we leave, will we all walk away with something, other than just a smudge on our foreheads, hopefully a better understanding what it means to be marked as Christ’s own. So as you begin your Lenten Journey don’t be like the flash of the dry palms, but work to make your journey one that will last not just through Lent, but through the rest of your life. The lifeless ashes remind us how much of our own discipleship may amount to the same thing – a flash in the pan, a parade on a spring day, but nothing permanent, and nothing lasting. The power and light dim as quickly as did the shouts of the crowds as Jesus entered Jerusalem, the shouts that changed so quickly from “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” to “Crucify him!” For a moment they are light and heat and power, and in the next moment they are changed into lifeless ash. When the match is put to the dry palms, they flare up quickly, and just as quickly die into ash. They summon us to follow him and to pray with him in the Garden of Gethsemane, to stick with him when he is arrested, and to claim him when we are asked with Peter, “Are you not a follower of that Man Jesus?” The ashes remind us that Christ went on ahead of us – and still goes on ahead of us. We are also reminded of the events of Holy Week – and of how the victory of Jesus over sin was won for us on Good Friday. They not only remind us of Jesus’ route on Good Friday they also remind us of how far we lag behind in our attempts to follow him. REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE DUST AND TO DUST YOU SHALL RETURN TRIALThey remind us of the dusty roads he walked upon as he brought the Good News to all people and of that last road he walked through Jerusalem, where he suffered rejection, trial and death on the cross. These ashes also point us back to Jesus Christ. ![]() We put the ashes on our foreheads to show that we are marked as Christ’s own through our baptism. In biblical times it was common for people who were mourning to dress in sackcloth and put ashes on their heads. It is a time when we are called to repent and change our ways. These ashes are also a sign of repentance. One that is meant to remind us that without the breath or Spirit of God moving in us, we are just like these ashes: lifeless – worthless. The first human was formed out of the dust of the earth by God and then God breathed life into that dust. The Bible tells us that we came from the dust and to the dust we shall return. Where did this strange tradition come from of putting ash on our foreheads this day and what does it mean? First of all these ashes are a reminder of who we are. By making the ashes from the palms of Palm Sunday we are reminded of how all our victories are but ashes before the glory of God It is also significant that we use palm branches to make these ashes. The ashes we are going to use are made from the Palms of previous year’s Palm Sunday branches. Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” ![]()
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