This Lenten season, you’ll see that our processional cross is veiled. This is a practice that began in the 800s and which is still used by Catholics, Anglicans and Lutherans.
On Ash Wednesday, the veil is a visual reminder to us of the separation between God and humanity that is behind the creation story. Adam and Eve eat from the tree, they sin, and they fear to stand naked before God. They cover themselves to face the consequence of damaging the wholeness and goodness of creation.
When we receive ashes on our foreheads, we hear the words that God speaks to Adam and Eve as they are driven out of the Garden of Eden: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
Augustana Lutheran Church of Hyde Park 
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