Lent: A Time of Simplicity

We begin the journey of Lent this Wednesday, February 22nd, with the celebration of Ash Wednesday. The words we hear as we receive ashes are: “Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.”  It is a reminder of our mortality.  We will not live forever.  It is also a reminder of the impermanence of this whole created world. But the ashes also remind us where we come from.  Into clay God first breathed the spirit of life.  We owe our existence to God.  The ashes are made from last year’s palm branches, a mystery that points us forward to Jesus’ own victory over death. Despite the uncertainties of this passing world, we are being prepared for an eternal destiny.  God will transform these mortal bodies of our own into glory, and the whole of this world will be transfigured. Already in baptism we have begun to share in this mystery.  May Lent lead us deeper into this great mystery!