Last Saturday at mass, it dawned on me how apt it was for Valentines Day and Ash Wednesday to fall on the same week this year. And that what both occassions have in common is LOVE. Valentines is a day of remembering people we love, and Ash Wednesday is the start of the church season where we commemorate the most beautiful act of love that has ever been done for us by God: His act of allowing His Beloved Son to suffer and die on the cross for our sake.
It seems odd - love? Lent? And yet it seems so right. Yes, how He loved us! Just like the song goes: "We remember how You loved us to your death, and still we celebrate, for You are with us here..." And, "What greater love is there than for a man to lay down his life for another..."
Next year, Valentines and Ash Wednesday will most likely fall on different weeks. So this year, I choose to consider the closeness of these two dates as special. I will think of it as a special signal for us to keep in mind the wonderful-ness of His great love, even as we reflect on the weight of His cross during the coming forty days.
Dakilang pag-ibig!
