Lenten reflection
Lord Jesus think on me,
And purge away my sin;
From earth bound passions set me free,
And make me pure within.
TiS 546; AHB 122; NEH 70
Ashes are a powerful symbol of destructive power.
Where bush fires have raged the remains of the living are as dust.
Ash is a bitter symbol of what is lost, destroyed.
Ash Wednesday begins our Lenten reflection on what is
lost, betrayed, corrupted, misplaced, broken in our lives.
Only with honest self-reflection are we able to see our petty selfishness,
greed or cheating and acknowledge the destruction it has caused.
Sin is loss, a gradual erosion to dust and ashes.
Only by waiting, trusting and hoping will we have the strength to face our truth.
Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and shield.
Our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Psalm 33: 20-22
Sheran, world-wide president of Mothers’ Union, suggests ‘keeping aids
to prayer within reach or next to your comfy chair’.
This may be the Mothers Union Prayer Diary or a birthday book.
You may even use an address book (sure to get one on sale at the newsagent).
You can write in friends and family and sundry others so you remember them day by day, letter by letter.
These are ways to ‘strengthen our connection with God and each other’, especially in Lent.