Dear God,
Your Compassion is boundless,
Your Grace is immeasurable. 
On this Ash Wednesday,
as we begin the Lenten Journey,
Help us dip ourselves wholly into the waters of our Baptism once again,
so that we have the courage to stand up against the tempter with
Your Anointing Love and Wisdom.
Today and every day, may we trust that you bring something beautiful out of the ashes of life and you measure our success through Your Love;
and our accomplishments through how we treat one another.
May we continue to live through your Love and Love alone.
We pray Humbly.
Amen.
I had the privilege of visiting El Salvador twice (2014, 2017) and I took these pictures in March 2017. These flowers grow on the soil, where six Jesuit Priests killed at the University of Central America in San Salvador, El Salvador, on November 16, 1989, (Jesuit Fr. Ignacio Ellacuria, who along with Fathers Ignacio Martin Baro, Segundo Montes, Juan Ramon Moreno, Joaquin Lopez y Lopez and Amando Lopez). Beaten to death in this garden, alongside their bodies found their Salvadoran housekeeper (Elba Ramos) and her teenage daughter (Celina Ramos) bodies as well. It is Elba’s husband and Celina’s father who planted roses to make their memory a fragrant of Love. These flowers are an authentic example of bringing something beautiful out of ashes of life. During the Civil War of El Salvador, over 70,000 died. May their memory continue to bless us with Courage to make this world a better place.