Gray weather. It rained all night. However, Ash Wednesday is full of joy. In a minute we will sing a nonu and go barefoot to set our heads to ashes, so that we can with great relief remember that we are dust. The source of all suffering is our own illusion that we are something other than dust. God is our joy, and in Him our dust can become wonderful. The great suffering of humanity is turned into joy by the love of Christ, and the secret of happiness is to no longer see any suffering in any other light than that of Christ's victory over it. And then all suffering somehow contributes to our happiness.
(Thomas Merton, diary entry from February 22, 1950)
