We are a people of the senses.

We smear dirt and ashes on our foreheads, feeling the cold, rough touch of the smudge on our skin, the finger of the minister as he or she traces the cross just above our eyes.

We wear the mark as a symbol for people we meet throughout our day to see, and for ourselves to see, when we gaze into a mirror, perhaps surprised.

We hear the words: “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel!” Our ears ring with this mission as we set out on our Lenten journey.

We smell the incense, our burnt offering, as it rises up to heaven, our gaze drifting upward as the smoke rises, calling our attention to that place we seek.

And we taste the Body and Blood of Christ at Communion, reminded that although we have bread to eat and wine to drink, we are still called to hunger and thirst for justice for all of humanity.

We are a people of the senses, those gifts from God that allow us to interact with the created world around us. As we begin this Lenten journey, let us prepare to touch, see, hear, smell and taste God in all things. Let us be sacraments of God’s love and bring these holy senses to those who are most in need.