My pal, Chad Meister, sent me this note from an anonymous blogger on Ash Wednesday. These words helped me set the trajectory for this 40 day journey into Lent. Powerful stuff. I read it over and over. After his confession, I invite you to use the prayer following it to make your own.
I thought you would enjoy these beautiful and life-giving words on Ash Wednesday from an anonymous blogger:
Ash Wednesday should be seen as standing guard over Lent, reminding us at its start of the core truth of Christianity: we must give up. We must give up not this or that habit or food or particular sin, but the entire project of self-justification, of making God’s love contingent on our own achievements. And the liturgy of this day goes right to the ultimate reality we struggle against, which is death itself. We are reminded, both by the words we say and the burned palms imposed on our foreheads, that we will die. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Give up! Give up, for you will not escape death.
The entire logic of the theology of glory, of all our Pelagian impulses, of all human attempts at mastery and control, are searched out and stripped away on Ash Wednesday. We are seen for what we are – frail mortals. All power, all money, all self-control, all striving, all efforts at reform cannot permanently forestall our death. Our return to dust is the looming fact of our existence that, in our resistance to it, provides a template of sorts for all the more petty efforts we make to gain control of our lives. In this way, the repentance that takes place on this day also can be seen for what it is. The penitential rite is not a kind of shame inducing act of self-hatred. It simply is a recognition, and thereby acceptance, of our inability to love and do perfectly, which no amount of self-help strategies can change. It points to the utter gratuity of grace, its unearned, unmerited, even inexplicable nature. Repentence, then, is liberating.
On Ash Wednesday, our confession of sin really is saying, “we give up.” By repenting, we opt out of the logic that turns the good news of Christianity into another form of bondage, of accusation and moralizing. We do not, on this day at least, pretend to be anything other than the flawed human beings we are. And it is this very lack of pretending that is such a relief to sufferers weighed down by guilt. Ash Wednesday is a day for honesty. We no longer have to fear or elide the truth about ourselves.
This prayer is from yesterday liturgy in the Divine Hours.
Most holy and merciful Father: I confess to you and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that I have sinned by my own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart, and mind, and strength. I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I have not forgiven others, as I have been forgiven. Have mercy on me, Lord. I have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. I have not been true to the mind of Christ. I have grieved your holy spirit. Have mercy on me, Lord. I confess to you, Lord, all my past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of my life. I confess to you, Lord. My self-indulgent appetites and ways, and my exploitation of other people, I confess to you, Lord. My anger at my own frustration, and my envy of those more fortunate than I, I confess to you, Lord. My intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and my dishonesty in daily life and work, I confess to you, Lord. My negligence in prayer and worship, and my failure to commend the faith that is in me, I confess to you, Lord. Accept my repentance, Lord, for the wrongs I have done: for my blindness to human need and suffering, and my indifference to indulgence and cruelty, Accept my repentance, Lord. For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward my neighbors, and for my prejudice and contempt towards those who differ from me, Accept my repentance, Lord. For my waste and pollution of your creation, and my lack of concern for those who come after us, Accept my repentance, Lord. Restore me, good Lord, and let your anger depart from me, Favorably hear me for your mercy is great. Accomplish in me and all of your church the work of your salvation, That I may show forth all your glory in the world. By the cross and passion of your Son, our Lord, Bring me with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.
Finally, a prayer request. Belle has had on-going stomach pains for months. Our doc has referred us to a specialist at DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mi. Our original appointment was bumped up – direct answer to prayer – to today. Please pray for a clear diagnosis and a path toward healing. Thanks!
Powerful post and prayer! Thanks for sharing.
Great news on the accelerated doctor's visit - I'll be praying for a clear and actionable diagnosis.
Posted by: Larry | March 10, 2011 at 09:13 AM
Thanks, Larry. You're a good man. We so appreciate the prayers.
Posted by: Rob Wegner | March 10, 2011 at 10:48 AM