Remember that you are dust…and deeply loved. Josef Rodriguez, SJ, reflects on what it means to “celebrate” Ash Wednesday.
Remember that you are dust…Dust worth dying for!
I’m Josef Rodriguez, and this is my One-Minute Reflection.
Today we celebrate Ash Wednesday. That’s right, I said “celebrate!” It’s a day for us to celebrate a tenet of our Faith: that our origin as human beings is from the ground, mere dirt or dust. This shouldn’t send us into a downward existential spiral toward meaninglessness. Rather, it should fill us with wonder and awe.
The Creator took interest in my collection of dust and formed me to be who I am today. The Father loved me so much that He sent His son to show me how to be a child of God. And eventually–spoiler alert!–the Son dies for ME!
As we receive ashes, whatever form that takes this year, let’s be moved by awe to enter with hope into this time of prayer, almsgiving, and fasting…and maybe giving up chocolate. That way, come Good Friday, we can sincerely sing, “What wondrous love is this, oh my soul?”