‘We are made of dust’

The ashes blessed at Mass, remind us of our frail humanity and one of life’s greatest mysteries, death.

Cheryl DePra of Albany prays after she and her children receive ashes during Ash Wednesday Mass on March 5 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany. (Cindy Schultz photo for The Evangelist) (Courtesy photo of Cindy Schultz)

“Then the Lord took some soil from the ground and formed man out of it, he breathed life giving breath into his nostrils and man began to live” (Gen. 2:7).

“You are dust and you will become dust again.”

In a film dating back to 1965, “Doctor Zhivago,” which is based on the classic novel by the Russian writer, Boris Pasternak, there is one scene that is particularly gut wrenching.

A young boy of eight, Yuri Zhivago, mourns the loss of his mother, who has died. In the dead of winter, he sees his dead mother lowered in the ground somewhere in rural Russia. Her casket is nailed shut. The sound of the hammers is deafening. The priest who presides over the mourning ritual, a burial service, intones the words, “The Spirit has left its tabernacle. The soul has returned to dust.”

Recall the words from the Catholic funeral ritual, “dust to dust, ashes to ashes.”

In other words, the soul has gone to God, and the body will soon turn to dust. But that separation is only temporary. At the end of time, bodies and souls will be reunited.

Some members of the family toss a handful of dirt into the grave, a grim reminder of man’s mortality and his return to the earth. Yuri remains silent throughout the brief service. He is alone, standing apart from the other mourners, and is sad and confused, a distressing sight.

He is still in shock!

The ashes blessed at (next Wednesday’s) Mass, remind us of our frail humanity and one of life’s greatest mysteries, death.

At that Mass, you will hear the words, “Remember, you are dust and unto death you shall return.”

In an Ash Wednesday sermon he preached several years ago Pope Francis said, “The mark of the ashes with which we set out reminds us of our origins: we were taken from the earth; we are made of dust. True, but we are dust in the loving hands of God who has breathed his Spirit in each one of us and still wants to do so.”

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew poet, the Psalmist writes, “The Lord remembers that we are dust.”

God remembers. He takes pity on us, his creation.

Ash Wednesday anticipates the great feast of Our Lord’s resurrection from the dead, and our resurrection as well.

We are destined to live forever.

We believe in everlasting life.

You are unlikely familiar with an old Rabbinic saying: “Each one of us should have two pockets. In the one should be the message, ‘I am dust and ash’ and the other should be ‘For me the universe is made.’ ”

These 40 days of Lent prepare us for the great events of salvation history, the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ.

To be suitably prepared, the Gospel reminds us of the need for prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

Father John Yanas is pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Troy.