Lent begins with a solemn call to fasting and repentance as we begin our journey to the baptismal waters of Easter. Now is the acceptable time to return to the Lord. During Lent we as a community of faith will reflect the meaning of our baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection. On Ash Wednesday, we receive ashes traced on our foreheads, to remind us that in our baptism, we were marked with the sign of the cross forever. The ashes suggest our human mortality and frailty. What seems like an ending is really an invitation to make each day a new beginning, in which we are washed in God’s mercy and forgiveness. With the cross on our brow, we long for the spiritual renewal that flows from the springtime Easter feast to come.

Let us pray,
Gracious God, out of your love and mercy you breathed into dust the breath of life, creating us to serve you and our neighbors. Call forth our prayers and acts of kindness, and strengthen us to face our mortality with confidence in the mercy of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!