“Remember, man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return."

Ash Wednesday opens the Church’s intense 40-day journey into Lent; a sacred sprint to Easter that echoes Christ’s own forty days in the desert wilderness, where He confronted temptation, fasted, and drew ever closer to the Father’s will. Lent is no mere pause; it is God’s urgent invitation to die to self so we can truly live—fully, freely, forever in Him. We begin with ashes on the forehead, the ancient words ringing out: “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Yet from that humble truth springs no despair, only awakening. These forty days strip away distractions, sharpen our hunger for God, and prepare the soul to burst into resurrection joy on Easter morning.

Today, on this solemn Ash Wednesday, the Church places upon your forehead the sign of the Cross in ashes: those frail remnants of last year’s palms that once waved in triumph.

WHY ASHES?

A thinking mind will simply ask, Why the use of ashes? This is because they speak the stark truth our souls so often forget: “Remember, man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.” Oh, what a stark reality that we often forget in a busy and noisy world. Thus, from dust we came, and to dust we go. A breath can scatter them; so too can death scatter our earthly pride. But one thing is sure, these ashes are no mere ritual; they are a mirror held to our mortality, reminding us that all our vanities, our ambitions, our little kingdoms built of sand, will one day crumble.

WHY ON THE FOREHEAD?

I was approached by a little boy after Mass, and he asked me, "Fr Emma, why must it be on my forehead?" I was happy to give him a response.

The ashes are not hidden in the hair as in some ancient customs, but boldly on the brow, the seat of thought and will. And here comes the real message: it declares to the world, and more importantly to ourselves, that we belong to the Crucified One. The cross traced there is a badge of our redemption, not of our shame alone. It says: "I am marked as Christ’s, even in my lowliness." The same trace of the cross is made on my forehead by a priest, my parents and godparents at baptism. This time, my mind, my choices, my very face must now bear the imprint of the suffering love of Christ. This humble mark also calls us, as Christians, to a deeper truth: we are sinners, yet loved; dust, yet destined for glory.

WHAT LENT IS NOT

Lent is not a season of gloom, but of return — of turning back with our whole heart, as the prophet Joel cries out: "Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning." Rend your hearts, not your garments. Let us remember that it is not with our "half heart" or part of our heart, but with our whole heart. It must be total and complete.

Let these forty days be a spiritual spring-cleaning, where we pull up the weeds of self and plant the seeds of grace. It is characterised by three basic pillars: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving.

The Gospel today from St. Matthew echoes this call with tender urgency. Our Lord warns against practising piety to be seen by others: praying, fasting, and giving alms with trumpet blasts for applause. No! Do it in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. The ashes on our foreheads are not for show; they are a quiet, public profession of hidden repentance. They therefore invite us to live these Lenten disciplines—prayer that seeks God's face alone, fasting that empties us for His filling, almsgiving that shares with the poor as if with Christ Himself, not for human praise, but for divine mercy.

As St. Paul pleads in the second reading: "We are ambassadors for Christ... Be reconciled to God... Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." Today, with ashes upon us, is that "now." Let this cross of ash burn into your soul the fire of love that alone can turn dust into glory.

Go forth, then, my dear brothers and sisters; marked and humbled, but not hopeless. For from these ashes, Easter will rise. And in the end, the forehead that bore the sign of death will shine with the light of resurrection.

Fr Emmanuel prays for you.

(ONYILIONWU JESUS)