I have only been a priest for two Ash Wednesdays, and both years I have been deeply moved by the words “remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The words became even more poignant when placing the freshly burnt ashes on the foreheads of children and infants. Children who still have their whole lives ahead of them, yet they are dust, and to dust they shall return.
This sobering reality is highlighted every year in the Church’s liturgy for one reason: so that we may convert and believe in the Gospel. Remembering we are dust and that to dust we shall return is a call to seek Christ who has conquered death. It invites us to place our hope on the greatest promise ever made in the history of mankind, the promise of eternal life for those who believe in Jesus Christ and eat of his body and blood.
In ancient Rome, during triumphant military parades of conquering generals, a slave stood next to the general whispering into his ear: memento mori, remember you will die. In a similar manner, for five hundred years the Papal master of ceremonies would pause three times and say to the Pope during his coronation procession as a flax fiber quickly burnt atop a staff, sic transit gloria mundi, thus passes the glory of the world.
This is the same sentiment the ashes on our foreheads ought to evoke. This sentiment moves us to seek God as we remember our death and remember this world will pass away. During Lent we are moved to repent and seek forgiveness from God. We are moved to place all our hope and trust in Jesus Christ, in whom we possess eternal life.
Ash Wednesday Masses at Sacred Heart: 7am, 9am, 6pm, 8pm Spanish
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