By Ken Canedo

"Remember, man, you are dust and to dust you will return."

These are some of the harshest words from any liturgy in the whole liturgical year. Taken from Genesis 3:19, it's one of two prayers that the priest or minister can say while placing ashes on the heads of the faithful on Ash Wednesday. What an attention grabber!

The whole Ash Wednesday thing is sombering. Those of us who attend an early Mass on this day end up going to work or school with a big black dirty cross on our foreheads, eliciting stares from strangers and curious questions from our friends. The readings speak of fasting, repentance, praying, and giving alms. In the Responsorial Psalm we sing or say together "Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned." St. Paul reminds us: "See, NOW is the acceptable time; see, NOW is the day of salvation."

"What are you giving up for Lent?" used to be a common question among those who went to Catholic school. A lot of people don't like Lent. It's too negative, too dark, and too depressing.

"I'd rather do something positive for Lent," is a popular remark this time of year. With all due respect to those who prefer to approach Lent positively, I ask: "What is so wrong about focusing on the NEGATIVE? Have we become such a feel-good smiley society that we need to sugarcoat the negative aspects of life?" No wonder drugs and alcohol are multi-million dollar industries. Got bad stuff happening in your life? Drink! Drug! Medicate! Anything but face the negative!

Negativity. Bring it on! It only forces me to face certain things about my life and my behavior that might need a little purging.

For your Ash Wednesday prayer, try meditating on when you did not exist. If you are 16, meditate on 17 years ago. If you are 27, think about 28 years ago. There was a time when each of us was nothing. We did not exist! It was from nothingness that God created us. From nothingness, God had an idea: YOU. How awesome! So God, in infinite wisdom, brought your parents together — in whatever circumstances — and you were created in God's own loving image. You sprang forth from nothingness, a clean slate, a new being, an empty vessel, ready to be filled with the stuff of life.

As you grew older you were filled, and filled, and filled with good stuff and not-so-good stuff. Maybe the not-so-good stuff started taking over, and before you even realized it you weren't you anymore. Addictions, bad behavior patterns, cravings, desires — all this not-so-good stuff came to define you, came to advertise who you are. Have you ever heard the phrase "victim of fashion?" That refers to someone who is so attuned to the latest trends, the latest clothing styles, the latest anything that he or she needs to dress, act and behave like this latest hot thing. In the process, the genuine self becomes lost.

So, in your Ash Wednesday prayer, get back to that time of nothingness. If that makes you squirm, remember: In your beginning, it was just you and God. That's what Ash Wednesday calls us to consider. Our relationship with God is our very first relationship. God loved the idea of YOU so much that you came to life. What has filled your empty vessel as the years have progressed? Are you a victim of fashion? Do your cravings and desires and distractions now define you? Can you LET GO of all this "stuff" and just get back to your genuine God-loved self?

Tom Booth wrote a lovely song that will be popping up in my iPod throughout Lent. My Heart Belongs to You perfectly captures the very essence of what Ash Wednesday means to me. As we begin this holy season, let us pray for each other.