{"id":8469,"date":"2019-03-06T08:15:38","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T14:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=8469"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:41:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:41:10","slug":"as-dust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2019\/03\/06\/as-dust\/","title":{"rendered":"As dust"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oh God, who desire not the death of sinners,
\nbut their\u00a0conversion,
\nmercifully hear our prayers
\nand in your kindness be pleased to bless these ashes,
\nwhich we intend to receive upon our heads,
\nthat we, who acknowledge we are but ashes shall return\u00a0to dust,
\nmay, through a steadfast observance of Lent,
\ngain pardon for sins and newness of life
\nafter\u00a0the likeness of your Risen Son.
\nWho lives\u00a0and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.
\n(Prayer for Blessing and Distribution of Ashes)<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
photo credit:\u00a0Justin Luebke, Unsplash.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As dust<\/span><\/p>\n

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

within
\nthe largeness
\nof God
\ndust, I am
\nwe all are
\ntiny<\/p>\n

a fragment of a larger\u00a0whole
\nfloating through the open air
\nonly visible to the naked eye
\nwhen illumined by light<\/p>\n

some days I am
\ncertain I was once
\na piece of His flesh
\nand now I am floating
\ntrying to reunite
\nwith my maker
\nmy true home<\/p>\n

most days I am
\nlike a fragment
\nof an ignored
\nbroken seashell
\nor sofa
\nor sweater
\nor carpet
\nor crumb of
\nneglected
\nleftovers<\/p>\n

yet the grace
\nand beauty–
\nthe dust of me,
\nof us all
\nis an offering
\nable to unite
\nto give life<\/p>\n

as dust
\nblessed
\nbroken
\nshared:
\nthe common
\nmystery
\ncommunion
\ncommunity–
\nmay this true love
\nbe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oh God, who desire not the death of sinners, but their\u00a0conversion, mercifully hear our prayers and in your kindness be pleased to bless these ashes, which we intend to receive upon our heads, that we, who acknowledge we are but ashes shall return\u00a0to dust, may, through a steadfast observance of Lent, gain pardon for sins...","protected":false},"author":4071079,"featured_media":8486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6469729,2178641],"tags":[624509,354011,297690,7104,133229,2416,698755374,467672236,7984,7816,104576,698755380,1861871,64908],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-8469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-activism","category-prayer-and-spirituality","tag-ash-wednesday","tag-body-of-christ","tag-brokenness","tag-catholic","tag-christ","tag-church","tag-community","tag-conversionn","tag-dust","tag-god","tag-humility","tag-lent","tag-poetry-2","tag-repentance","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/photo-1463412855783-af97e375664b.jpeg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"

As dust<\/a><\/blockquote>