Ash Wednesday, 2011
THE WORLD COMMUNITY FOR CHRISTIAN MEDITATION
LEARN TO LIVE IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD
Today you can see people on the bus or on the subway or waiting
next to the copier with a stain on the front. Seeing them is like watching someone
meditate at the airport or in the waiting room, see a travel companion
the spiritual path, not just strangers passing in the night. It is no secret signal
or an exclusive club, yet few people understand it.
receive ashes as a reminder not to waste time.
"Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return. Repent and believe in the Gospel
. "
Strangely these words spoken by placing the ashes
bring comfort and hope because they remind us of an easily forgotten truth, a truth that bothers
our easy-to-denying culture. We gorge with
images of death and violence as entertainment, but ignore
true considering it as morbid.
spiritual tradition teaches us to be aware of death we
enhances the vivid contrasts in life and our ability to live fully. The ash
our front is a reminder that the only way to live, really live
is at present.
any fleeting moment of time, past or future is lost or wasted when
experience in this.
Lent begins today. This is the opportunity to engage in new and renewal
as spiritual beings in the human journey. If you received the ashes
not make the sign of the cross on your forehead, or ask for it to a friend,
repeating the words that are designed to awaken. If you meditate
renew your commitment to stillness and silence every morning and evening. If you
started and stopped, start again. If you have not started,
not wasted any time.
Laurence Freeman OSB
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