"Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Again, today on Ash Wednesday, you are called to this time, a season set aside for a reset of your soul. Mother Church has a call for you, a reminder of your need for a Savior. The marking of a cross will be placed upon the foreheads of Christians around the globe uniting us all in our resolve. It is time.

Receive the sign as a gift of opportunity, an invitation to walk palms open and surrendered into this season of penance.

The ashes used are last year’s Palm Sunday branches, what was a living piece of a palm tree, burned until charred. Resolve to dig up and root out sin in your life, planting Christ in its place, so He can grow within you.

The charred dust is a reminder of the flames that burned down the branches. Pray for God to help you burn away the sinful habits and desires that have crept into your life to instead make a place for the fire of Christ to be enkindled in you.

As you practice penance this season, may your aim be to kill the vice within you and give life to virtue. In humility, fasting and almsgiving will help you see yourself as you truly are, requiring an inventory of the bad and the ugly.

Our response is necessary for this spiritual growth and holy fire. You are invited to the Way of the Cross, to walk alongside Christ to the place of death. To be reminded of your mortality and to embrace suffering.

You are asked to rend your heart. To trust in the loving hand of the Father Who wants to see you at the end of this Lenten journey: the joy of Easter and with life in abundance. Now is the acceptable time.

[bctt tweet="Now is the acceptable time. // Sarah Ortiz" username="blessedisshe__"]

listen to today’s devotion

Have you picked one prayer practice for this Lent? Pray with this today.