Today is a day of dust, today also is a day of flowers. Today the Church celebrates Ash Wednesday; today also she celebrates Valentine Wednesday.
As you put on ashes on your forehead today, put on flowers in your heart too. Let the ashes remind you that you are dust and unto dust you shall return. And then, let the flowers remind you that your one and only vocation in this world is to love and you don’t have to wait until you become dust to show love.
Some ask, how can you combine Ash Wednesday with Valentine Wednesday? In other words, how can you combine dusty ashes that look brownish with rosy flowers that look reddish? And I told them, they are not meant to be combined, for there is no semblance with Rose and Dust, or is there any semblance with Ashes and Valentine.
Rather,
They are meant to teach because any reddish flower you do not take care of due to negligence, greed, and lies, will soon become brownish ash. So, do not asked for the combination, ask rather for the connection. What connects ashes and flowers are simple: negligence and lies. Put negligence and lies on a reddish flower, it turns brownish ash. Remove negligence and lies from a reddish flower, it blooms even more.
That which connects ashes with flowers, is what connects the dead and the living. It is also what connects hate and love. Put negligence, lies, and deceit in a loving family, the result you get is hate. Put greed, lies, and deceit in a living country, the result you get is death.
Ashes on our forehead should make us feel sorry for our negligence and lies. It is a call to repentance. While Valentine in our heart should make us feel unconditional love. It is a call to love.
If your plan for dating her is simply about how good she will be in bed, yet you kept telling her that you love her. Bear this in mind: that is lie and deceit and not love. Soon, you shall return to dust. For he that lies and deceives belongs to the dust and not to the living. You can do better!
For the many times you have cheated on your wife or husband, let the ashes remind you that you have acted like dust, and let the Valentine flower of today propel you to begin acting better.
Ashes remind us of our nothingness; Valentine reminds us of our somethingness. You are nothing if your heart does not produce something true. The only love people will always remember you for is love based on sincerity and sacrifice.
Previous Valentines, you usually take your spouse out, buy them new gadget, have Ice-cream. While this is good, bear this in mind, the best gift you can ever give your spouse is the gift of faithfulness. The gift of an iPhone to your wife makes no sense to a woman whose husband sleeps with other women. A deliciously prepared meal loses its taste in the mouth of a man whose wife sleeps with other men.
Last words:
Love until you are dead and don’t die until you truly love, for even after death love still continues and then you will find it difficult to cope since all that is done after death is love and those who can’t bear it are those we usually say are in Hell.
Happy Valentine day! Have a spirit filled Lenten season.
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