Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season. Lent represents the journey, the pilgrimage, of our lives from death to renewed life. We use symbols in the practice of faith. The most powerful of these symbols point to the miracle of life and death, such as the ashes of Ash Wednesday.

Ashes are the substance remaining after combustion has occurred and they symbolize death, mourning, grief, penitence, and humiliation. When we wear them on our faces, we affirm the power of destruction, of suffering, and of death, but not their ultimate power. Lenten ashes also point us toward the path through the valley of the shadow of death to life being renewed.

The ashes imposed on our foreheads remind of our identity as followers of Jesus, who continually pointed not to himself as God, but beyond himself to God. Jesus also stopped, turned back to those of us who follow him, and reminds us that we are the Christ presence in our world. Let us embrace the call to be Christ in our lives so that others may see God.

            We give thanks for the love of Jesus that led him to accept the suffering of the cross so that all his sisters and brothers might see clearly to walk the path of new life. We honor him when we change our selfishness into self-giving. Let our prayer be for God to lead us to embrace the world in which we live, that the darkness of its pain may be transformed into life and joy.

Thanks for continuing to bless me as we journey together.
  
Jack Price FYI - Jack has published several articles at: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jack_F_Price

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