Today begins the season of lent, and the children guessed that in my box I had palms and ashes. At St. Mark's we save the palms from Palm Sunday until the following year's Shrove Tuesday, when they are burned and the ashes mixed with oil to be used on Ash Wednesday.
Lent has many meanings, but at its core is the idea of taking some time to prepare your heart for the mystery and sacrifice and wonder of Easter. We lead such busy lives, full of school, work, sports, clubs, social events and all sorts of things which crowd our every minute. Lent is the perfect time to breathe, to stop, to listen for what God might be saying to you. Think of establishing some daily habit with your children of prayer, or Bible reading or conversation about the day.
One of the traditions of lent is marking the forehead with ashes. It is a strange feeling, forgetting and then remebering that whatever you do that day, the ashes are there. During lent take time to remember that every day, ashes or not, you are marked as Christ's own forever.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
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