As we begin the season of Lent with a day of fasting and penance, we have also come for Mass to beseech the Lord for His forgiveness of our sins.
And later at Mass, ashes will be imposed on our foreheads as a sign of repentance.
Besides being a sign of repentance, ashes also remind us of some fundamental truths.
Ashes remind us of our humanity, that we are weak and frail, and that without God we are nothing at all.
Ashes remind us of our mortality, that when life comes to an end, we will return to dust.
Ashes remind us of our Creator, and that we are created by Him, and that we have no merit or credit of our own.
These ashes remind us to be humble before God, and that all our achievements and possessions count for nothing before God.
When we realize that we are nothing, then God can do something.
He will raise us up from the ashes of earth to the glory of above.
He will raise up our frail humanity to share in the glory of His divinity.
When we truly repent and know that we are mere ashes and dust, then God will pour out His saving love on us and grant us the reward of His promises.