Ashes

 For many Christians Ash Wednesday is  the start of Lent, the forty days prior to Easter when the church  calls us  to reflect upon,  and contemplate more deeply the passion of Christ and   His sacrificial,  redeeming grace ; His  unconditional love for all mankind. For  Catholic Christians, we   are reminded of our own mortality when the priest uses  the sacramental,  blessed  ashes  to mark our forehead in the Sign of the Cross.

Father Jerry,  in his homily tonight made  it very clear about life and death, and   what  really matters. He told about those on the fated flights of 9/11, and how the record shows  many of the  passengers,  knowing they were going to die in a matter of minutes  used their cell phones to call loved ones to say, " Forgive me,  "I'm sorry" and " I love you".  

That sums it up pretty good,  doesn't it ? In the end, when our life on this earth is near over,  it doesn't  matter how much money we have, how famous we are, how educated,  political  or intellectual  we are; What matters most  is how we have loved, and  how we're  loved in return.