A Message for Ash Wednesday
Ashes can… be a thing of wonder. This day in the Christian year, this day of ashes, tells us that ashes—dust, dirt, earth—are the stuff from which we have been made, and to which we will return. This day, and the season it heralds, seeks to ground us, to make us mindful of the humus, the humility, the earthiness of which our bones and flesh are made. This season calls us to open ourselves to the God who brings life from ashes…
Where is God calling us to be a presence of healing amid devastation? How is God challenging us to stand against the forces that deny freedom, the forces that…seek the silence and captivity of others?... In this season, what will we say and what will we do?
May God work wonders amid the ashes strewn in Ukraine, Turkey, Syria, and here in the United States where racial injustice and violence continue to plague us.
Message adapted from author Jan Richardson
Signs of the Times
- Oceania bishops' assembly spotlights climate crisis (NCR, 2/21)
- Statement from President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on the Day of Remembrance of Japanese American Incarceration (WhiteHouse.gov, 2/19)
- ‘What should I give up for Lent?’ is the wrong question to start with. (America, 2/16)
- "Going Home Like a Shooting Star: Thea Bowman’s Journey to Sainthood" with Sr. Anita Baird, DHM (Recording, Future Church, 2/15)
- Slavery and the Catholic Church: It’s time to correct the historical record (America, 2/15)
- Analysis: What’s really driving criticism of Cardinal McElroy’s call for LGBT inclusion (America, 2/3)