Ash Wednesday

"For dust you are, And to dust you shall return." (Gen. 3:19)

It's here! Welcome to Lent.

Last year, when I was Eastern Orthodox, I went to my local Antiochian Wetern Rite parish for the imposition of ashes during lunch hour. I work in the service department at a car dealership so all day I heard "Hey, you have grease on your forehead". The cool thing was that I was able to witness my faith. I noticed newscasters on CNN and ESPN that day with ashes too.

This will be my first Lent as a Roman Catholic after 12 in Orthodoxy. In fact, our first visit to an Orthodox church was on Cheesefare Sunday (the Sunday before Lent). This year the Orthodox don't start Lent until the middle of March since our Paschal celebrations are almost a month apart.

A Prayer for Ash Wednesday:

Mercifully direct, O God, all my thoughts, words, and actions throughout this season to Thy greater glory, and to the welfare of myself and others; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

~From "A Few Devotional Helps for Lent and Passion-tide" 1858