The Beginning of Lent
Today marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day observance (not counting Sundays) that starts on Ash Wednesday, when our foreheads are marked with ashes as a sign of mortality and penitence. The Lenten season provides a time for examining our relationship with God. It’s a time for confession of sins and acknowledgement of vulnerabilities, a time for purging the old and preparing for something new, a time to ponder death and resurrection. Lent gives us space to make an inventory of lessons learned and discoveries that still lie ahead. It gives us permission to reflect on the fragility of our existence. In this season for discernment, meditation, and prayer, we remember that we came from dust, and to dust we will return. In the remembering, there is resurrection, healing and hope.