Ash Wednesday liturgies are some of the best attended in the entire year. Some people suggest that is just because the Church is giving out something free, but I suspect there are deeper reasons! Ashes are an ancient symbol of repentance (sackcloth and ashes). They also remind us of our mortality ("remember that you are dust") and thus of the day when we will stand before God and be judged. This can be linked easily to the death and resurrection motif of Baptism. To prepare well for the day we die, we must die now to sin and rise to new life in Christ. Being marked with ashes at the beginning of Lent indicates our recognition of the need for deeper conversion of our lives during this season of renewal.
I hope that you will join our parish family for Ash Wednesday - Mass is at 8:00a.m. and 7:00p.m. and we have two Liturgies of the Word at 9:30a.m. and 1:00p.m. involving the children of our two parish elementary schools. Please come. Welcome Home!