Joel 2:12-18 / 2 Cor 5:20 - 6:2 / Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Today, the Church uses a lowly and humble substance as we begin the holy season of Lent.
Ashes will be imposed on our foreheads as a sign of repentance, and also a sign of the penance we will undertake.
These ashes are derived from the palm branches that we received at last year's Palm Sunday.
Those palm branches had seen glorious moments when they were held high and waved during the procession.
Then they were left silently on our home altars, on the door-posts and in obscure places.
Then, a year later, they were collected and burned into ashes and imposed on our foreheads.
These ashes may be a sign of our lives and our faith, in that we had our green and glorious moments in life.
Along the way, we faced our trials, we become aware of our weaknesses, our frailty and our mortality.
And like the dry spiky palm branches that are gathered up and burnt into ashes, we are also reminded of our eventuality.
But our faith in God tells us that He will raise us up from the ashes of our lives for His glory.
Yes, let us remember that we are ashes and dust and unto ashes and dust we shall return.
And like the lowly ashes and dust, we return to God in humility to be used for His glory.
Let us ask the Lord for mercy and forgiveness.
As the 1st reading tells us, “turn to the Lord your God, for He is all tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in graciousness and ready to relent.
And God will also grant a blessing on the lowly, the humble and contrite of heart.
God's blessing is our reward, and His blessing is all we will need in life.