WATCHWORD:
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence,
and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.
Psalm 51:10-12
Meditation:
Ash Wednesday – Lenten Week #1
Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting. As it is the first day of Lent, many Christians begin Ash Wednesday by marking a Lenten calendar, praying a Lenten daily devotional, and making a Lenten sacrifice that they will not partake of until the arrival of Easter.
Ash Wednesday derives its name from the placing of repentance ashes on the foreheads of participants to either the words “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” or the dictum “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
You are invited on a journey into God’s love. During this period of Lent, a Watchword has been prepared with appropriate Scripture passages, and, instead of a Meditation, a series of questions, for you to consider the wonder of God’s love.
May your Lenten Journey be blessed with insight and unexpected graces. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
Easter marks the end of the Lenten Season. After Easter, we will return to our regular schedule of Watchwords five days each week, skipping both Wednesdays and Sundays.
Closing Prayers:
Holy God, whose Spirit drives us into the wilderness to confront our priorities with a holy fast; grant that as we are about to do battle with our demons and the power of evil, we may be defended by our grace through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
