Lent, Day 1: Ash Wednesday

The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, a day traditionally set aside for fasting, prayer, and penitence. Ashes are a traditional symbol of mourning and repentance and on this day Christians all over the world will attend services in which ashes are placed on their foreheads as a sign of repentance.

Readings

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

Psalm 51: 1-17

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Prayer

“O thou Eternal God, out of whose absolute power and infinite intelligence the whole universe has come into being. We humbly confess that we have not loved thee with our hears, souls, and mind, and we have not loved our neighbors as Christ loved us. We have all too often lived by our own selfish impulses rather than by the life of sacrificial love as revealed by Christ. We often give in order to receive, we love our friends and hate our enemies, we go the first mile but dare not travel the second, we forgive but dare not forget. And so as we look within ourselves we are confronted with the appalling fact that the history of our lives is the history of an eternal revolt against thee. But thou, O God, have mercy upon us. Forgive us for what we could have been but failed to be. Give us the intelligence to know thy will. Give us the courage to do thy will. Give us the devotion to love thy will. In the name and the spirit of Jesus we pray. Amen.”

~ Martin Luther King, Jr., from  “Thou Dear God”: Prayers that Open Hearts and Spirits.

Comments

[gwkh]

Brad, thank you. thank you. thank you.

[Rita Badham]

Brad that was beautiful - thank you for posting!