Marked for life

There are many times in our lives when we are marked by God. At Baptism we are washed clean and anointed and welcomed into God's family. At confirmation we are marked by the Holy Spirit as the Bishop lays his hands on us and claims us for Christ. On Ash Wednesday we are marked with the cross. Quite possibly the most visible of the marks we receive, particularly if like me you forget it is there. But to be marked with the cross at this point in the year is significant on many levels. First of all, we are reminded of our mortality. "From dust you have come and to dust you will return". But also in receiving this mark you are reminded that though you are dust the cross has saved your soul for eternity. The cross reminds us of the sacrifice that was made for us to receive such grace. This tiny mark is the starting gun for our minds to focus on the Lenten period.

Gone is ordinary time and we turn to the purple of Lent. We turn our thoughts to the journey towards the cross. We take this journey through the stations of the cross, devotions and services in the lead up to Easter. There is also another more personal journey we must take alongside the set religious one. We also turn our thoughts to self examination, penitence, reconciliation and renewing our relationship with God.

I have a love/hate relationship with Lent. I like the idea of Lent but the cold hard reality of examining my conscience, seeking confession, absolution and then 40 days of penitential fasting is just a bit daunting. I know that once I have got the first bit over I will be more prepared for the latter. But that first jump is always the hardest, even though I know it will do me the most good. There is nothing comfortable about going to confession when you have your eyes fixed on the cross. You know that that suffering only exists because of what you (and others) have done. Yet that suffering also exists that we might be absolved. Nothing is better than that whiter than white feeling you get from being absolved, even if , like me it does not last long. Will power and discipline do not come easily to me. They are things that really have to be worked at and I need to be in the right frame of mind to succeed.

But Lent is a time for striving to be better, to make ourselves that little bit more worthy. Though we still be inherently stained by our own fallibility during our life on earth. We will ultimately be washed clean in the grace of God and kept safe for all eternity.

Christ's sacrifice for us is far more than we can ever give, but we can at least start Lent by being sorry for all we have done wrong. So if you have not already been to confession on Shrove Tuesday, might I recommend you give it a try.