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Ash Wednesday
Introduction
The Tree of Life: A Lenten Journey
Lent is often described as a season of sacrifice or repentance. Yet at its deepest level, Lent is a journey of growth — a returning to the Source of Life that sustains us. This journey can be understood through the image of the Tree of Life, a symbol found across spiritual traditions, reminding us that all life is interconnected, rooted in mystery, and continually unfolding toward new life.
A tree does not grow by striving. It grows by remaining rooted. Its strength comes from what is unseen — roots reaching deep into the earth, drawing nourishment in hidden ways. In the same way, Lent invites us to deepen our roots in hope so that love may rise more freely in our lives.
Conversion is not becoming worthy of God’s love, but awakening to the love already present within and among us. God of many names and beyond all names is not distant or dominating, but nurturing, relational, and life-giving — like soil that holds and sustains every living thing. Growth happens through connection, community, and trust in the slow work of transformation.
I feel that in my bones every day in my daily attempts to exercise. I find it a whole lot easier and much more fun when the workout includes others doing aerobics together in our pool.
The movement of this Lenten journey follows the rhythm of the Tree of Life:
- • Rooted in Hope — remembering our belovedness and grounding ourselves in love.
- • Growing in Compassion — opening our hearts to transformation and deeper seeing.
- • Reaching Toward Light — embodying love through justice, mercy, and healing.
- • Rising in Love — living resurrection as an ongoing way of life.
Each week offers reflection, prayer, daily thoughts, simple practices, blessings, and optional communal responses for shared prayer. These resources are meant to accompany individuals and communities seeking a spirituality that honors both contemplation and action, personal healing and collective transformation.
The Tree of Life reminds us that seasons of loss and renewal belong to the same living cycle. Roots grow in darkness before branches reach toward light. So too in our lives, hope often takes root quietly before love becomes visible.
May this journey help you remember what is most true:
You are rooted in hope.
You are rising in love.
And love continues to grow in you and through you for the life of the world.
ASH WEDNESDAY
Rooted in Belovedness
The Seed of Hope
Scripture — Cycle A
Joel 2:12–18
Psalm 51
2 Corinthians 5:20–6:2
Matthew 6:1–6, 16–18
“Return to me with your whole heart.” — Joel 2:12
Theme
The journey begins beneath the surface. Like a seed placed in the earth, we begin Lent by remembering that we belong to God. Ashes remind us that life begins in humility and belovedness.
Opening Reflection
We begin Lent by affirming who we are as the beloved of God.
Ashes remind us that we are made of earth — fragile, temporary, and profoundly sacred. In many spiritual traditions, dust is not a symbol of shame but of origin. We come from the soil of creation, breathed into life by Holy Wisdom. The ashes placed upon our foreheads do not say, “You are unworthy.” They say, “You are human, and you are loved.”
Too often Lent has been framed as a journey of fixing ourselves or proving our worthiness to God. But the Gospel tells a different story. Jesus begins his ministry not by striving, but by hearing the words spoken at his baptism: “You are my beloved.”
Lent begins there for us as well.
Returning to God is not a journey toward a distant judge. It is a returning home to Love itself. When we remember our belovedness, we can face our vulnerabilities without fear. We can release what no longer gives life. We can begin again.
Ashes mark not an ending, but a beginning — the courage to live honestly, tenderly, and awake to grace.
Prayer
Holy One,
You breathe life into dust and call it sacred.
When we forget who we are, remind us that we belong to you.
When shame closes our hearts, open us again to love.
May this Lenten journey begin not in fear, but in trust —
trust that nothing in us is beyond your transforming compassion.
Amen.
Reflection Questions
• Where have I forgotten my belovedness?
• What am I invited to release this Lent?
Simple Ritual or Practice
Touch ashes or earth and say quietly:
“I belong to love.”
Daily Reflections (Days 1–4)
Day 1 — Beginning Again
Every spiritual journey begins with honesty. God meets us where we are, not where we think we should be.
Day 2 — Sacred Vulnerability
Our wounds are not barriers to grace; they are often the place where compassion grows.
Day 3 — Letting Go of Shame
Love transforms more deeply than fear ever can.
Day 4 — Returning Home
God is not waiting to judge us, but to welcome us.
Weekly Blessing — Blessing of Beginning
May you begin gently.
May you trust that love has already begun its work in you.
May this season open space for healing, courage, and hope.
