Thursday, March 02, 2006
Ash Wednesday and Lent
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. The season of Lent is a time of penitence for the people of God. Ash Wednesday begins the 40 days of Lent. A time to contemplate many things. A time of preparation so we may focus on the suffering of Jesus during Holy Week. Some churches use ashes which remind us that from ashes we came and to ashes we return, a reminder of our mortality. A reminder that we need to be right with God so we may have eternal life with Him in heaven upon our earthly death. We receive this gift of eternal life because Jesus took it upon himself to be punished for the sins of all mankind. This He did on the cross on Good Friday. Not only did He suffer death, he trounced the devil and rose from the dead. Because of this, God says, your sins are forgiven, you may enter heaven. All we have to do is believe that this is so. Nothing else. Because we believe this, we want to tell others. We tell and show others in our families, our communities and some even travel to remote places of the world. Wow!
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Here at school we use ashes at our morning Chapel during a service of confession and absolution. That night we have a regular service with communion. It is really interesting though when you walk around with a cross on your forehead in black. As the day goes on it slowly gets rubbed off but people will ask you what the cross on your forehead is about (or what the mark on your forehead is about). Even though I go to a Christian school, not everyone here know about Christ and so it is a good tool to start a conversation about who Christ is and what he did in our lives and then talk about the season of the Church year we are entering.
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