Today is Ash Wednesday – a time of self examination as Lent begins.
A collect for Ash Wednesday from the New Zealand Prayer Book.
God of the desert, as we follow Jesus into the unknown,
may we recognise the tempter when he comes;
let it be your bread we eat,
your world we serve and you alone we worship.
An excellent contemporary collect for urban dwellers is A Collect for the City Desert by Matt Humm.
More about Ash Wednesday at BBC – Religion & Ethics – Ash Wednesday.
For more on Lent and why “purple” see BBC – Religion & Ethics – Lent. (Some Christian traditions use different colours for Ash Wednesday and Lent (including unbleached linen)).