REPENT AND BELIEVE
With Ash Wednesday the Church enters the season of Lent – the springtime of Christian life. This season begins with ash but ends with fire. Generally, fire comes first and then comes the ash. Here ash comes first, and fire comes later. We are invited to realize the fact that God can turn our sinful past into ashes and ignite us with the fire of his love. As the ashes are imposed on our foreheads today one of the two formulas may be used: ‘Repent and believe in the good news’ or ‘you are dust and unto dust you shall return.’ These formulas reveal our frailty, our transitory nature, our weak nature. Because of our weak human nature, we commit sin and thus stand in need of repentance. No matter how much progress we make in our life we should never forget that we are dust and unto dust we shall return. The beauty is that in this earthen vessel God has placed a precious treasure, namely, his Holy Spirit. Let us enter into this season with the right disposition of repentance so that we may enjoy the richness of this treasure.
Liturgy for Ash Wednesday -
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