Fr Jim Cogley
Ask Wednesday traditionally marks the beginning of Lent. It is the day when many Christians have blessed ashes placed on their foreheads and hear the words, ‘Remember that you are but dust and unto dust you shall return’. While it is regarded as a blessing, it is in fact a reminder of the stark fact that given the passage of time all things, including our bodies will one day return to dust. Two years ago, just weeks before Covid struck, this fact was brought home very starkly when so much of what we thought unthinkable became a reality almost overnight. The skies were empty, the roads became silent and even if we had money there was very little we could do with it. Change is inevitable and Spirit alone is permanent. Without a spiritual practice our lives are simply built on sand and it takes very little to blow them away.