Today we receive ashes upon our forehead in the sign of the cross. The messiness of the ashes as they are speared upon our heads gives way to the mercy of God revealed in the cross.
As the cross is marked on our forehead we should call the mind the conversion of Constantine.
As constantine went out into battle, the cross appeared to him in broad day light. That night as he slept he had a dream of the Christ inviting him to place the cross on his shields and horse and heard the Christ say, "in hoc signo vinces: by this sign you shall conqueror."
Constantine went off into battle and returned victorious and later made Christianity a legally recognized religion.
As the sign of the cross is marked on our foreheads, we receive our marching orders; we are sent out in the next 40 days to engage in spiritual training and combat.
We are sent forth to practice discipline and train our souls to respond more promptly to the saving word and action of God in our life.
We are sent forth to pray, fast, and give alms.
As we pray, our space now becomes God's space; as we fast, we empty ourselves from detachment of the world to a greater dependence on God, allowing him to fill us; as we give alms, we allow charity and generosity to bear fruit as we look upon our neighbor in need and see the face of Christ, begging for the human heart to open wide and to extend a helping hand.
As we do this, the cross we bear on our forehead becomes no longer just a sign but a living reality: we enter into crucified love.
As we give up things or actions, we are making space, we are rending our hearts, opening them wide, to welcome the gift God has prepared for us on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. For if our hands and hearts are already full then we can not truly receive the gift that awaits us when our 40 days have ended.
May we embrace these 40 days a spiritual and emotional and physical retreat. May we engage our whole body, mind and spirit. as we retreat from the world, we also retreat toward God. This is how we "return" to God as the prophet exhorts us.
May our return be fruitful as we learn the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit.
"Remember your are dust and unto dust you shall return." Remember you are dust alive in the hands of God.
Leave nothing to chance. Leave no stone unturned. Leave everything behind and let nothing get in the way, return and remember, in hoc signo vinces.
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