"Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return" are the words that the minister will say as ashes are placed upon your forehead making the mark of the cross. These words should draw our minds back to Genesis when the world was created and we came forth from the dust of the earth. We now walk about this earth with only the promise of death on our side. These ashes are a symbol of the death that will eventually come for each of us, and thus they remind us of our own sinfulness and the need to turn away from it. If we can realize that our life on this earth is truly short; we should be able to see the urgency of conversion that lays before our eyes. The season of Lent of which we now begin helps to place these realities before us as we continue to prepare ourselves to behold the glory of Christ Resurrected. This time is not for idleness, but is for the urgency of growing each day closer into union with God. If we do not treat each day with urgency; we must be prepared to acknowledge that a time will come for us to account for our life.
In order to draw a most manifold attention to this urgency we mark ourselves with these ashes to proclaim our sinfulness and thus our need for conversion. To be marked with ashes is not a mere cultural Catholic exercise, but instead proclaims the reality of our mortality and thus our need to turn towards conversion. Throughout scripture the use of ashes was a symbol of the horror of sin and the repentance that one must turn towards due to its effect. In the words of Job: "therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Also, in the words of Daniel: "Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes." Again, from 1st Maccabees: "They fasted that day, put on sackcloth and sprinkled ashes on their heads, and tore their clothes." In all three of these examples given from the Old Testament we are being shown the seriousness of receiving ashes because in doing so we are proclaiming ourselves as being sinful and as being in need of authentic conversion.
Therefore, it is the mark of the cross that is made upon our foreheads. Through this mark we stand in our sinfulness and we reach out for authentic conversion. The cross is a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice that was offered for all of our sins. The cross is a reminder of the perfect love that was given to the world through God made man and the sacrifice that was offered due to our sins. The cross should be a reminder for all of us of what our sins have caused. The cross should be a reminder that we must repent and believe in the Gospel. The cross is a reminder of the conversion that each of us must prevail ourselves towards. May this marking with ashes in the form of the cross truly transform the attitude of our lives. May this action truly set the reality of our own mortality before our eyes. May this action remind us of the commitment that we will give God during this Lenten season. From these ashes we proclaim the horror of our sins and prevail ourselves to God's mercy with the true desire to encounter conversion.
Let us remember then with our hearts truly placed upon repentance and conversion that the greatest gift that we will receive today is not ashes, but instead is the Body and Blood of Christ found within the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. May these ashes remind us of the importance of receiving the Eucharist in the state of grace, help us to be challenged to use the Lenten season to grow closer to the Eucharist and thus our own sanctity, and also may these ashes help up to discover true repentance and conversion that better prepares our life to truly be modeled after the Eucharist.
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