I recently received a wedding invitation in the mail. I was so excited as I began to think about celebrating this upcoming marriage. I spoke to the mother of the bride and she was excited too, but had struggled to cut down the guest list. Generally, invitations are exclusive – only those invited can participate. In our liturgy for Ash Wednesday, there is an invitation – an invitation to the observance of a holy Lent. Unlike most invitations, this one is not exclusive. Instead, it is open to everyone.

We had been in Honduras for a few months when I decided to wander off in the crowded San Pedro Sula market to “look for care bears.” I was three years old, but I still remember my mother’s frantic expression, running through the rows of vendors, with my older sister in tow. “Busca mi nina,” she called over and over in her broken Spanish. She was sweating, half-crazed, and crying when she swooped me into her arms, shouting, “never do that again!”