Throughout the central United States, Ash Wednesday 2008 came in with a bang, depositing a foot or more of snow through parts of the Midwest, while tornadoes have ripped through the South, killing at least 27 people.
On a day in which we should be thinking of our own mortality, our thoughts and prayers are with the souls of those lost, and with their families.
"Remember, man, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return." The traditional English translation of the admonition that the priest delivers to each and every one of us--young or old, male or female, rich or poor--as he makes a cross of ashes on our forehead reminds us that none of us can escape death--and judgment. We don't know when it will come, though for many of us (like those killed by the tornados yesterday), it will come when we least expect it.
That's why both Scripture and the Church have always taught that we need to prepare ourselves every day. We have plenty of second chances in our lives--and the Sacrament of Confession can help us make the most of them--but once death comes for us, there are no more second chances. Our fate is sealed, and we have sealed it, both by what we did and by what we didn't do.
As we begin this Lent, let us resolve to make the most of it--to conform our lives to Christ, to shed the sins of the past, to live each day as if it were our last. The salvation that Christ bought us with His Death on Good Friday and His Resurrection on Easter Sunday is the greatest gift that we could ever receive. Let's live our lives as if we believe that.
Remember--Ash Wednesday, along with Good Friday, is a day of strict fasting (no eating between meals, and only one full meal, with two smaller ones, for all Catholics between the ages of 18 and 60) and abstinence (no meat or food made with meat for all Catholics over the age of 14).
(A woman prays after receiving ashes on her forehead in observance of Ash Wednesday at Saint Louis Cathedral, February 6, 2008, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images.)
Lenten Resources:
- Ash Wednesday in the Catholic Church
- The Sacrament of Confession
- Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian
- Spiritual Reading for Lent
- Fasting: A Powerful Spiritual Tool
- Abstinence as Spiritual Discipline
- What Are the Rules for Fasting and Abstinence in the Catholic Church?
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