What would it look like in your family to ask the Spirit to heal darkness at every level of community?Īsh Wednesday in many churches is marked by the imposition of the ashes on the forehead in the shape of a cross. What would it look like in your family to make space for an ongoing conversation about loss, to give voice to lament, to grief?

This is an opportunity to offer those losses to God, to grieve them with God and then seek the healing. When we make space for grief, our other losses may rise to the surface. Keep in mind, lament often leads to more lament. We reflect on when we didn’t give the honor due to a beloved of God. We reflect on the ways we have not lived into our true identity as the beloved of God, purveyors of good. We also reflect on the ways we have forgotten that other people are God’s beloved. We take a step deeper into lament when we reflect on when we have forgotten that we are God’s beloved, when we have forgotten God’s mandate for good. We lament darkness on all levels of community: worldwide, nation wide, local community, family, and personal.

As we hold the knowledge of the good God intended with the knowledge of how that goodness has darkened, we lament. We open the door for lament when we begin with the knowledge that God created all things good and for good. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, the day that marks the beginning of our season of lament. This rhythm has seasons of celebration, seasons of monotony and even seasons of lament. As such, setting our life to the rhythm of the Seasons of the Church helps us to mark our life by the life of Jesus. Many of us think of our families as tiny monasteries used by the Spirit to deepen our relationships and form us into the likeness of Jesus.

How to prepare ashes for imposition