Ash Wednesday Message from Bishop Howard By Taylor Mende on February 17, 2021 The foundation of repentance is love, grace and mercy, and the ashes can be to us a sign of love, a reminder of our baptismal vows and a mark of God’s faithfulness to us. After all, the important thing about Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season should not be the dark smudge on our foreheads, but the smile on our faces and the joy in our hearts.