Day 1: Act of Contrition, 1st Line

My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.

I couldn’t imagine a better line of prayer to focus on for Ash Wednesday. These words encompass the very heart of the entire Lenten season as we prepare ourselves for the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It's fitting that the prayer begins with My God and not I. We tend to make Lent (and everything in life, for that matter) about ourselves—what we’re giving up, what we’re committing to, what we want out of it, etc. But to begin a prayer with “My God” helps all things find their correct order as we remember that He is the initiator, the One loving us into existence, calling us to Himself, inviting us to prayer and repentance, etc. To pray this prayer is to respond to His invitation.

And it is not a half-hearted response, as if we’re only kind of sorry for everything, or sorry for some things, but not all. It’s complete sorrow for everything. The good news is that we are going somewhere with this. But first, we start here.

Care to share?

This reflection is a part of By Heart: A Lenten Prayer Project.