Ash Wednesday Comes and, Lord, We Hear

Ash Wednesday comes, and Lord, we hear
The word for which our spirits yearn;
Amid this world's distress and fear,
We hear Your loving call: "Return!"

"Return to Me with all your heart"
With fasting, weeping, mourning, too.
O God, we seek a brand new start,
A new beginning here with You.

You call to us — the old, the young;
You summon nations strong and weak.
When we have drifted toward the wrong,
You call us back, Your way to seek.

O God most merciful and kind,
Your love is not a prize we earn;
Yet in our life with You we find
The joy that comes when we return.

~Words: Carolyn Gillette & Tune: Thomas Tallis