The Sign of Christ Cross Written with Ashes Upon my Forehead~

  Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent.

What do these ashes mean to me?

As I look at my reflection,
I remember who I am.

 I remember my body came from dust and dust it will return.

All of my gifts are not my own, they were placed within me by our Lord. As I am to use them to better serve Him.

 I am baptized in Christ.
 I'm on a journey to turn away from sin and to be faithful to the gospel, the word of God.
This cross reminds me that Jesus died for my sins, so that I can repent and be forgiven.

This smudge of ashes upon my forehead do not only remind me, but they also proclaims this identity to others.
Renewing the sense of who we are before God is the core of the Lenten experience.

This fourty day Lenten journey, we remember Christ's agony in the garden, as He waited the crucifixion.
The last week of the Lenten journey (Holy Week), we remember  His sorrowful Passion .
It is suggested to give something up, or to do something extra for our Lord during Lent.
I like to look at my life and highlight the areas that do not allow me to grow closer in him. This is where I find what to do during my own Lenten journey.

I once read we are like the Ninevites in the story of Jonah. It was "their wickedness" that caused God to send Jonah to preach to them. Jonah resisted that mission and found himself in deep water. Rescued by a large fish, Jonah finally did Gods bidding and began to preach in Nineveh. His preaching obviously fell on the ears and hearts, for in one day he promoted the conversion of the whole city. From that very beginning of Lent God calls us to conversion. If we open our ears and hearts, we will be like the Ninevites not only in their sinful ways but also in the conversion to the Lord.

Ash Wednesday Prayer

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, the all-holy one, who gives us life and all things. As we go about our lives, the press of our duties and activities often leads us to forget your presence and your love. We fall into sin and fail to live out the responsibilities that you have entrusted to those who were baptized into your Son.

In this holy season, help us to turn our minds and hearts back to you. Lead us into sincere repentance and renew our lives with your grace. Help us to remember that we are sinners, but even more, help us to remember your loving mercy.

As we live through this Ash Wednesday, may the crosses of ashes that mark our foreheads be a reminder to us and to those we meet that we belong to your Son.
May our worship, prayer and penitence this day be sustained throughout these 40 days of Lent.
 Bring us refreshed and renewed to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection at Easter.
We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

 

What does the bible say about ashes?

The prophet Jeremiah, for example, calls for repentance this way: "O
daughter of my people, gird on sackcloth, roll in the ashes" (Jer 6:26).

The prophet Isaiah, on the other hand, critiques the use of sackcloth and ashes as inadequate to please God, but in the process he indicates that this practice was well-known in Israel: "Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance: that a man bow his head like a reed, and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?" (Is 58:5).

The prophet Daniel pleaded for God to rescue Israel with sackcloth and ashes as a sign of Israel's repentance: "I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes" (Dn 9:3).

Perhaps the best known example of repentance in the Old Testament also involves sackcloth and ashes. When the prophet Jonah finally obeyed God's command and preached in the great city of Nineveh, his preaching was amazingly effective. Word of his message was carried to the king of Nineveh. "When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes" (Jon 3:6).

In the book of Judith, we find acts of repentance that specify that the ashes were put on people's heads: "And all the Israelite men, women and children who lived in Jerusalem prostrated themselves in front of the temple building, with ashes strewn on their heads, displaying their sackcloth covering before the Lord" (Jdt 4:11; see also 4:15 and 9:1).

Just prior to the New Testament period, the rebels fighting for Jewish independence, the Maccabees, prepared for battle using ashes: "That day they fasted and wore sackcloth; they sprinkled ashes on their heads and tore their clothes" (1 Mc 3:47; see also 4:39).

In the New Testament, Jesus refers to the use of sackcloth and ashes as signs of repentance: "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes" (Mt 11:21, Lk 10:13).

(Reposting from 2011)