At my church, we will gather tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, for a service including the imposition of ashes and the beginning of Lent.
Ashes are a reminder of death, and make us take a look at our own mortality.
But, our rector, Father Rick reminded us, those ashes come from palm fronds used at Palm Sunday services last year, as Easter approached. Easter is new life, arising out of the ashes of death.
And so it goes.
Life triumphs.
Today is Mardi Gras! That means a pancake dinner tonight, a time-honored tradition to use up fats and other foods that will be given up for Lenten fasting.
I will be fasting for a couple of days starting tomorrow, because of a medical procedure I’ll undergo Friday. It’s a perfect time to begin a fast, and offer it up with Lenten ashes.
But today, Mardi Gras!