Ash Wednesday

Today God our Father brings us to the beginning of Lent. We pray that in this time of salvation He will fill us with the Holy Spirit, purify our hearts, and strengthen us in love. This prayer comes from the introduction to the intercessions at Morning Prayer in the Divine Office for today, Ash Wednesday. I invite anyone who reads this blog to place this prayer before you as you enter Lent. God the Father brings us this holy season so that we may enter deeply into the Mystery of His Merciful Love, by meditating upon the life, death, and resurrection of His Son Jesus the Christ. Now is a time of salvation, not punishment. Our Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and alms giving are not punishment. They are practices that open our hearts and our eyes to our Father's Loving Mercy, and the gift of His Son. Filled with the gift of the Holy Spirit we will be reminded of all that Jesus taught us. The disciplines and meditations of Lent will strengthen us in our Father's Love and our hearts will be purified. While Lent is a serious season that calls for our own examination of conscience while we meditate on our Lord's Passion, let us not forget it is the Loving Mercy of our Father that brings us here, and in that we can find comfort and consolation.