Lent 2010

     Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me . . . .

   Hide your face from my sins, and blot out my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and out a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.

Psalm 51:1-3, 9-11

Ashes are a symbol of Lent. The mark of the cross on our forehead in ashes (from last year’s burned palm crosses) is a reminder of our own mortality. Ashes have become a symbol of repentance for both individual and communities. When Job suffered his misfortunes, he ‘took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes. Fasting and being clothed in sackcloth and ashes were ways for whole communities to show their repentance.

So here we are at the beginning of the season of Lent. Despite all of our achievements and medical and scientific advances; we were dust and to dust we shall return. Our Lenten journey is a journey towards Holy Week and Easter. It is not just the destination; in Lent it is the odyssey as well.

For prayer and meditation