THEOLOGICAL CLUE

The very title of the first day of Lent - Ash Wednesday, with its opening word, "Remember, you are dust, and unto dust you shall return" - has the theological clue for its observation embedded in it; Lent has to do with the human predicament of sin and death and points to the action God takes in the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ, to resolve this situation. The cross announces forgiveness of sin, reconciles God and his children, and the resurrection completes the justification of all people, assuring the faithful that the "Easter Life" is their gift from God. From a personal perspective, Lent takes us to the cross, where we die with Jesus, and beyond it to the empty tomb of Easter, where we rise to new and eternal life with the Christ of God. Lent, when i…