"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return"Every Ash Wednesday I hear these words spoken to me as my priest uses ashes to mark my forehead with the sign of the cross. The ashes are an ancient sign speaking of the frailty and uncertainty of human life; they are a sign of our mortality and - to the christian during Lent - a sign of penitence.
A couple days ago, as I sat in our living room and watched our 13 month old son playing, I was suddenly struck by the thought of him giving a eulogy at my funeral. Indeed, I was struck by the contrast of his vitality and my own mortality (and his too). I smiled at the thought of him speaking about his papa: sharing memories, tears, and smiles.
At the Ash Wednesday service, we share in the celebration of the Eucharist following the imposition of ashes. As Christians we can affirm that death is both inevitable and temporary. In the Eucharist we share in Christ's death and resurrection. Nonetheless, before we can celebration the Resurrection at Easter we must travel through Ash Wednesday and Lent in preparation. We must remember our mortality so that we can remember our coming immortality; we must contemplate our death that we might live our life.
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