WHY ASH WEDNESDAY?

Traditionally, the Christian church has observed the seven weeks before Easter as a time of repentance and spiritual self-examination. Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, derives its name from the ancient practice of marking the foreheads of worshippers with ashes from the palm branches of the previous year. Ashes historically have had a dual significance. First, they are Old Testament symbols of sadness and humility. Job, amid all his troubles, cried out to God from the ash heap. The second symbolic meaning of ashes is as a reminder of our mortality. Each of us faces the inevitability of physical death. Our bodies and material possessions eventually will turn to dust and ashes. This is a reminder that we dare not trust in things that crumble. But Lent does not leave us on the ash heap. It begins with Ash Wednesday but ends with Easter. And Easter proclaims that, through Christ, God resurrects us from our dust and ashes, makes us new creatures, and brings life out of death!