Ash Wednesday

"But now - declares Yahweh - come back to me with all your heart, fasting, weeping, mourning." Tear your hearts and not your clothes, and come back to Yahweh your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in faithful love, and in relents about inflicting disaster. - Joel 2:12-13

Yes, it is time once again - Time to reflect on our sinfulness, on the ways we have failed God and neighbor. Those ashes on our foreheads remind us of our humanity, that "We are dust and to dust we shall return." Our time here on this earth is short. It is time for us to turn back to God and realize he is the source of all that we are. We are nothing without Him. We can't make it alone. He is "slow to anger and rich in faithful love," always ready to welcome us back when we have strayed.