Ash Wednesday

I've decided based on my readings and study of James that I will give up the "traumas of the tongue" for Lent. I have an accountability partner at work. Together we are going to encourage each other to maintain a positive attitude amongst our colleagues and ourselves.

One of my favorite authors, Ruth Haley Barton, has written a wonderful article on Lent. I encourage you to read it.


"Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Church's observance of the Lenten season. It is the doorway into a space in time that calls us to stop whatever we are doing, now matter how important it might be, and enter more intentionally into the disciplines of prayer, self-examination and repentance. Left to ourselves, we probably would not choose to devote a whole season to such rigorous and demanding disciplines, but God knows we need it.

Entering In
The season begins as we receive the symbolic gesture of the imposition of ashes on our foreheads and acknowledge our human finiteness and mortality. No matter who we think we are, the traditions of Ash Wednesday remind us that "you are dust and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3:19) This is not meant to be morbid, it is just meant to limit our grandiosity and help us to stay in touch with the real human condition that we all share.
Ash Wednesday also initiates a season of acknowledging our sinfulness. In a very intentional way, we invite God to search us and know us and (eventually) to lead us into resurrection life. The ashes marking our foreheads carry the same meaning contained in the Old Testament practices."

Read the rest of the article at:
http://www.thetransformingcenter.org/pdf/Ash2007.pdf

Also, Lauren Winner has some great thoughts about this in her writings.