Ash Wednesday brings us the invitation, “Repent and believe the Good News”. This day is always a sober reminder that life has two sides to it, the carefree, sunny side and the dark, painful side. We are familiar with these two sides in our own lives.
Lent, which starts today, is not meant to be a time of punishment but a gift from God to me – an opportunity to return to God and, with him, to take a look at both the sunny and the dark sides of my life, my world, and my inner self. To take a look, acknowledge what is there, and accept the fact that it is there. Only when I can look at my whole life in the light of God’s love will I be in a position to tackle its darker side.

Repent, turn round on your road. That means first coming to a halt. I can’t make a U-turn while I’m rushing along. I must pause, perhaps for a few minutes more every day with God, and then, with God, I can look at the way my life is going, who my companions are, what I will leave behind if I turn to a new route, and perhaps too, take an objective look at what my present journey is costing me and whether it is worth it.