Ash Wednesday is full of joy...The source of all sorrow is the illusion that of ourselves we are anything but dust.
Thomas MertonNevertheless, the liturgy of Ash Wednesday is not focussed on the sinfulness of the penitent but on the mercy of God. The question of sinfulness is raised precisely because this is a day of mercy, and the just do not need a savior.
Thomas MertonArt is not an end in itself. It introduces the soul into a higher spiritual order, which it expresses and in some sense explains.
Thomas Merton