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Ash Wednesday has finally arrived!
Today is a day for fasting, prayer, and recognition of our littleness. Receiving ashes on our foreheads symbolizes that we believe that our life on Earth is fleeting--but we have eternal life ahead of us once our bodies return to dust. As Pope Benedict said, these ashes are a call to repentance and humility.
This Ash Wednesday was a little bit different than the past few years for me. Instead of spending the whole day distributing ashes and running around as a sacristan at St. John's, I was blessed to be more of a passive participator in the day. I still had a couple of duties that I was certainly happy about (keeping rowdy middle schoolers in line during an ash service and singing at Mass), but it was refreshing to be able to focus more on my own observance of the day. I was not worried about finding a moment of personal prayer in between Masses and services around campus; I essentially had the whole day to pray and prepare for the next 40 days, getting ready for the holy celebration of the Resurrection on Easter!
pax christi.
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