Today, many of us will attend Ash Wednesday services. A priest will dip his thumb into a small bowl containing the ashes of burnt consecrated palms from the previous year mixed with holy oil. He will then trace the sign of the cross on each person’s forehead. What a tangible reminder of our confidence in the Lord! As Christians, we do not turn and look over our shoulders at death with fear, but on the contrary, we walk straight toward it with faith, love, and joyful hope.