Published on 3 March 2025

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How thirsty I am for Heaven!

Saint Therese, Letter 79

Mortal, but destined for the glory of Heaven

"Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return." This word that God addresses to man in the Book of Genesis is taken up by the liturgy of Ash Wednesday. It reminds the baptized of his finitude and his coming death. It invites him to place himself before the judgment of God, to take a path of conversion.

When we venerate the relics of a saint, we experience both the reality of death suggested by these bones, and the evocation of Heaven, of the “Homeland” — as Thérèse liked to call it — of the Kingdom. For these bones refer to a figure of holiness who is now for eternity in the Heaven of God.

This is why the liturgy added a second word, during the imposition of Ashes: "Repent and believe in the Gospel." Remembering that we are mortal and that we will be confronted with the Judgment of God, to better welcome the Salvation offered in Jesus Christ through the Gospel.

In celebrating the liturgy of Ashes, I like to alternate the two words, so that the assembly can hear these two calls: Remember that you are mortal, but together, advance on a path of conversion. For if we die alone, it is in the communion of the Church that together we can advance in the footsteps of Jesus, in the communion of saints.

When we venerate relics, let us also remember that we are mortal, but destined for the glory of Heaven!

Father Emmanuel Schwab, Rector of the Sanctuary

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