“Man is dust, and unto dust you shall
return”
As a practicing Roman Catholic, I believe that is
a season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for Christ's
Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which we attain redemption.
That season begins today. God’s divine
mercy is of utmost importance during the season of Lent, we seek that mercy
during the entire Lenten season with reflection, prayer and penance.
You may feel the distribution of ashes
is an archaic ceremony of ages past, that the role of the Catholic Church has
been corrupted, that is no longer relevant. To each their own.
Redemption, what does it mean? I
believe that Jesus gave us all redemption when he chose to accept his fate and
suffer the humiliation, pain and suffering of his cruxification.
Opportunity knocks but we have to open
the door and invite it in. Not everyone
will choose to accept the redeeming love of God and its invitation to
salvation. You see redemption and salvation are not the same thing.
Pope Francis recently spoke about the
difference when he said, ““The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the
Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the
atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone!”
Salvation
is an individual choice, a choice that we each must make. It is a gift that we
can accept or reject even up to our death bed.
Tonight, I will attend Ash Wednesday
mass at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist at 7:00 p.m. I wish I had been
able to get to the noon mass because now I have to miss the presentation on
diaries from Newfoundland WW1 soldiers taking place at The Rooms tonight. A
small sacrifice.
Ashes are a symbol of penance made
sacramental by the blessing of the Church, and they help develop a spirit of
humility and sacrifice. The spirit lives on, it needs to be nourished.
The ashes that the Bishop will place on
my forehead are made from the blessed palms used in the Palm Sunday celebration
of the previous year. The ashes are christened with Holy Water and are scented
by exposure to incense. While the ashes symbolize penance and contrition, they
are also a reminder that God is gracious and merciful to those who call on Him
for salvation with truly repentant hearts.
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