ST - sheep thief or saint, making sense of that ugly mark on your forehead - ash wednesday 2014

Today as in the day of our Baptism we will be sealed with a cross on our foreheads.  The only difference is, when we were baptized we were sealed with the oil of Chrism.  This time we will be sealed with ashes mixed in oil.  The parallelism is significant for the season of Lent which we begin today is in fact a reexamination, a looking back as to what we have done with the grace of baptism that was given us.  Have we lived faithfully our baptismal promises?  Have we become better Christians?  Have we been faithful to our vocation and mission in life? Have we loved God above all and loved our neighbor as ourselves? 

We are given 40 days to look back so that after forty days we can renew our baptism once more in the vigil of Easter.  Each of us will have to make our own personal retreat, for the 40 days of lent recalls the 40 days and nights when God destroyed sinful humanity at the time of Noah; the 40 years when the Israelites were cleansed in the desert to prepare them for the promised land; the same 40 days and 40 nights when God revealed his will and his law to Moses in Mt. Sinai; the same 40 days and nights when Jesus fought the devil and temptation to prepare him for his mission.  Every Lent is our own personal retreat, a personal assessment of our relationship with God and the ashes signify the attitudes that should prevail in us in this sacred season – for the ashes signify humility to confront our true selves, repentance from our failures, and lastly continuous prayer that should permeate this season.  As we start this retreat today, let these ashes and let our fasting and abstinence this day signify our resolve to be sincere in this 40-day encounter with the Lord and with ourselves.

Let me end this with a story I found somewhere.  It’s the story of two brothers living in a shepherding village many years ago. They were caught stealing sheep and, according to the rough custom of the village, each had the letters "ST" burned on their foreheads. They were tattooed, they were branded by the letters S and T on their foreheads.  ST meant "sheep-thief." One brother, unwilling to face the shame, left town and wandered about the country for many years. But after a while in each location, the meaning of the letters was learned and he had to move on. He lived as an outcast all his days.

The other man decided to make amends. He remained in his village and lived a blameless life. Trying to make up for his misdeeds, he became a caring neighbor, a trusted friend. He lived to a good old age and was dearly loved. One day a visitor asked a citizen what those letters, ST, on the old man's forehead meant. The friend thought for a while. Everyone had long since forgotten the true meaning of the letters. Finally, the man replied, "I think the letters stand for saint."

The ashes may be an ugly sign placed on our foreheads to signify that we are sinners, to show that we have made mistakes, we have been selfish, and that we may have hurt people with our words and actions.  But this mark, this ugly smear on our foreheads may one day reveal its true meaning – saint; the ugly mark may one day signify saint.