Ash Wednesday

Lent is a time for reflection, but during our efforts to honor the season we can be distracted.

At the Ash Wednesday service the priest explained that traditional Lenten activities--giving of alms, prayer, and fasting--can be co-opted for other purposes.

For example, alms-giving is often joined with a fund-raising campaign for particular charities. The charities and their goals may be very worthy, but fund-raising is not the principal purpose of Lent. We are to set aside the concerns of the self and the world and concentrate on our relationship with God.

Similarly, the purpose of a fasting regimen is not to make progress on a New Year's resolution to lose weight. That would be mixing our objectives and our focus. Our eyes may gaze up to the heavens or be lowered in prayer, but they shouldn't be looking in the mirror.

The busy-ness of the world distracts us from the fundamental truth that we won't be around forever. That's why the priest imposes the ashes in the middle of the service and repeats:

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.