What does Ash Wednesday mean to you?
Depending on how you grew up, it may mean the day that you were dragged out of bed an hour early to have a priest sketch a cross of ashes on your forehead. It could also mean the day you wondered why other kids at school had ashes on their foreheads.
Whether you’ve long honored Ash Wednesday or never quite known what it was, 2021 may be an especially meaningful year for observing it. Holy days in the church calendar provide us with rhythm—a sense of seasons, cycles, and time that many of us feel we’ve lost in the pandemic era. Ash Wednesday specifically invites us into the Lenten season of reflection and repentance as we await the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
If you’ve felt the darkness of the world closing in around you in these heavy months, Ash Wednesday grants the sacred permission we’re often quick to deny ourselves—to acknowledge the frailty of our humanity and the weight of sin.
Whether you’re an Ash Wednesday Rookie or an old pro, may this year’s observance draw you deeply into the sheer grace that the season of Lent can bring.
