Grace Cathedral

Dear Friends,

Next week marks the beginning of Lent with Ash Wednesday, a day when we gather to remember our mortality and begin our journey toward Holy Week and Easter. We will offer services with the imposition of ashes at noon and 6 pm in the cathedral. Each liturgy that day offers a powerful moment with which to pause, reflect, and begin this season of preparation together.

The tradition of Ash Wednesday dates back to the early Church, where, according to Marion J. Hatchett, in her commentary of the prayerbook tells us “[Ash Wednesday] originated in the penitential discipline of the early church when those whose notorious sins had caused scandal were excommunicated…the imposition of ashes were added to the dismissal in the 9th century.” Though the practice of using ashes as a sign of penitence appears throughout scripture, by the 11th century, the custom had become widespread throughout Western Christianity. The ashes we use are created by burning the palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebrations (which we’ll celebrate this Sunday at the 6 pm Vesper light service!), a beautiful symbol of how our moments of triumph and celebration ultimately give way to humility and reflection.

Theologically, Ash Wednesday embodies several truths central to our faith. When we receive the ashes on our foreheads in the shape of a cross with the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” we acknowledge both our mortality and our complete dependence on God’s grace. This echoes Genesis 3:19, reminding us of our creation from the dust of the earth. Yet those ashes are formed in the shape of the cross—the very symbol of our redemption—showing that our story doesn’t end with dust but continues through Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection.

The practice also connects us to the ancient tradition of public penance. In the early Church, as Hatchett explained, those who had committed serious sins began their reconciliation on this day. They would be sprinkled with ashes and dressed in sackcloth, beginning a period of penance that would conclude with their restoration to the community at Easter. While our observance today is less rigorous, it maintains this spirit of honest self-examination and communal reconciliation.

Ash Wednesday always reminds me of the beautiful paradox at the heart of our faith—that in acknowledging our limitations, we find freedom; in confronting our mortality, we discover eternal life. These quiet moments of truth-telling before God form the foundation of our Lenten practice, inviting us to examine what separates us from God and from one another.

Lent is not merely about giving something up—though that discipline has its place—but about making space for God’s transforming presence in our lives. The forty days reflect Jesus’ time of testing in the wilderness before beginning his public ministry. Like him, we are called to use this time for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—the three traditional Lenten disciplines that help reorient our hearts toward God and neighbor.

I hope you will join us not only for Carnivale, our annual gala that will be held on Tuesday, March 4, but also for Ash Wednesday services. We’ll have Morning Prayer at 9 am on Zoom, Confessions from 9:30 – 11:45 am and from 1 – 5:45 pm, in addition to our two eucharists with imposition of ashes at noon and 6 pm.

As we begin this journey together, may we support one another with compassion and walk with open hearts toward the mystery of Easter. Each of us travels this path differently, bringing our unique gifts and challenges, but we move forward as one community bound by grace and love.

Peace,​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The Rev. Joe C.Williams (he/him)

Succentor