Remember that you are dust,and to dust you shall return.

Christians gather on Ash Wednesday to mark the beginning of Lent's baptismal preparation for Easter. On this day, the people of God receive an ashen cross on the forehead (a gesture rooted in baptism), hear the solemn proclamation to keep a fast in preparation for Easter's feast, and contemplate anew the ongoing meaning of baptismal initiation into the Lord's death and resurrection. While marked with the ashes of human mortality, the church hears God's promise of forgiveness and tastes God's mercy in the bread of life and the cup of salvation. From this solemn liturgy, the church goes forth on its journey to the great baptismal feast of Easter. People: We confess to you and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. Leader: We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven. People: Have mercy on us, Lord. Leader: We have been deaf to your call to serve as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit. People: Have mercy on us, Lord. Leader: We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness. The pride, hypocrisy, and impatience in our lives, People: Have mercy on us, Lord. Leader: Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people, People: Have mercy on us, Lord. Leader: Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves, People: Have mercy on us, Lord. Leader: Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work, People: Have mercy on us, Lord. Leader: Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us, People: Have mercy on us, Lord. Leader: Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done. For our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty, People: Have mercy on us, Lord. Leader: For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us, People: accept our repentance, Lord. Leader: For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us, People: Have mercy on us, Lord. Leader: Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us. People: Hear us, Lord, for your mercy is great. Amen