Ash Wednesday

"And now, O Lord, I bend the knee of my heart,
     and make my appeal, sure of your gracious goodness." (BCP 90)

These words from the Canticle entitled "A Song of Penitence" are, as the rubrics say, especially suitable in Lent, and on other penitential occasions.

There's an important lesson here for our American self-focus in Lent. "What are you giving up?" we ask each other, forgetting that our Lenten observance is not meant to focus us on our sinfulness, but on God's gracious goodness.

We're turning our eyes toward Easter here, and the example we see in the Risen Christ -- even far off -- is so beautiful that we are ever more conscious of our sins. But in the light of that Easter glory, we make our appeal, "sure of God's gracious goodness."

Whatever practice you have taken on, whatever indulgence you have given up, I pray that this Lent will find you ever more confident in God's goodness, ever more ready to celebrate the Easter feast.