Wednesday, Feb. 14...Today's Valentine's Day and also Ash Wednesday. It has been years now since I had gone to church to get my forehead marked with black ashes, and several years since I celebrated Valentine's Day...
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. It is the beginning of a period of sober reflection, self-examination, and spiritual redirection. The priest or minister offers the worshipper an instruction while applying the ashes and he would say either of the ff:
1) "Remember, man, that you are dust and unto dust you shall return."
(Latin: Memento homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.)
2) "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel."
3) "Repent, and hear the good news."
(Latin: Memento homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.)
2) "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel."
3) "Repent, and hear the good news."
The first line has touched my heart the most. My bestfriend just came back from a 2-wk vacation from my country & here I am sleeping over at her house and sharing stories & updates about her trip. It is sad to hear stories of poverty & hardships but it is a fact in a Third World Country. What is more sad is the huge disparity between the rich and the poor. However, in the end, no matter what your status in life is -- we will all go back to dust.
What matters most is how we loved & lived our lives. So, today (on a very special Valentine's and Ash Wednesday), I THANK God for EVERYTHING that He has given me, most especially for LIFE & LOVE. And I PRAY that God will teach me how to TRULY love unselfishly for the less fortunates; unconditionally to my family & friends; lastly, patiently & completely for the right one that He has chosen for me.....
No comments:
Post a Comment