Consider, then, how the Ash Wednesday liturgy can invite those gathered into awareness and intentionality as we live in the inside-out tension of Lent. Just as we do not see our own ashes unless they are reflected back to us in a mirror or through an encounter with our neighbor, so the Lenten journey straddles the tension and flow of the inward and outward Christian life. Ash Wednesday sends us off on our Lenten journey clothed with confession, repentance, and ashes to notice and join Jesus and our fellow travelers on the road to the cross. As followers of Christ, we journey toward the cross with Jesus. We are not mere spectators of the road to Calvary. Pay attention to the difference between watching and noticing. ![]() Time in Lent stretches out, slowing us down so we can stop and notice this road that leads to the cross. ![]() Thus, the imposition of ashes is not only a mark of confession before God and a reminder of our human frailty, but also a physical sign that we are entering a new time in the Christian Year. In this ritual, Ash Wednesday also launches us into the season of Lent, albeit somberly. The Ash Wednesday liturgy revolves around the central ritual of the imposition of ashes.
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