Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the period of 40 days (excluding Sundays) before Easter. It's a day for prayer, fasting, repentance, and reflection on our human finiteness.
At a traditional Ash Wednesday service, the priest smudges ashes onto your forehead in the sign of the cross, and says, "remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." This year, in line with COVID guidelines, my partner and I are briefly meeting a priest (outdoors with masks) to receive ashes.
I find Ash Wednesday so meaningful because it offers sacred space to confront uncomfortable realities - the ways we fail to measure up, the grief over our human frailty, our absolute dependence upon God. I find it comforting to remember that despite the chaos of life, I am but dust. In the end, it all depends on God, not me.
Reflections from Alex Griffin
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