Posts Tagged ‘Ash Wednesday’
Lent: What We Need Is Here
And we pray, not for new earth or heaven, but to be quiet in heart, and in eye clear. What we need is here. – from “The Wild Geese” by Wendell Berry Deep breath. Eyes closed. Flying leap. Each new Lent feels like this. Jumping into the unknown. Flinging ourselves into the arms of the divine.…
Read MoreA Mother’s Prayer for Ash Wednesday
God of Ash Wednesday, whose hands first gathered dust to create us, whose Spirit breathed new life into brittle bones, whose fingers traced the sand to save a sinner, take the dirt of my life— the tempers lost, the doors slammed, the complaints muttered, the harsh words thrown, the dark doubts seethed— take all these…
Read MoreAsh Wednesday: Every Parent’s Nightmare
Last night I lingered in a long line of blinking tail lights to turn into the parking lot. I wondered about the growing crowds at each year’s Ash Wednesday services. What packs the pews this evening every Lent? As I waited, I thought of four young girls killed in a weekend car crash. Freshmen roommates, victims…
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