Ash Wednesday, February 17

Joel 2:12-18. “Even now,” says God, “return to me with your whole heart! Blow the trumpets! Gather the people!”

Each Ash Wednesday I hear this passage read by a student in my school. Each year the expressive, enthusiastic voice of a child calls the congregation to attention.

What a call, as we begin the season of Lent! The Book of Joel was written to a people who had experienced hardships and plagues. This passage is a call of hope, even during the most difficult of times. Today it brings to mind the people of Haiti, who after the devastation of the earthquake, sang to God with songs of hope, expressing their trust in God’s goodness.

During this season of Lent, I am reminded to put my hope in God, who is slow to anger and rich in kindness, and to be a reflection of God’s goodness. I invite you to do the same.

- Maryann Kaczmarski Slater, Bachelor’s Degree, Edgewood College, 1976;
Principal, Blessed Sacrament School, Madison