Ash and sin

I was told a story about Archbishop Timothy Dolan recently, who when he was the reforming Rector of the North American College, said, "Good Morning" to a student and in return was greeted with a grunt. He retorted, "When I greet you, you return the greeting".
The seminarian replied, "Oh well, I'm just not a morning type of person, it's just me!"
The Rector answered, "If you want to stay in this seminary, you have got to become "a morning person"".

I like the story, when I was first ordained every nun I met seemed to introduce herself by: I am Sister ........., I am a "5", "rabbit", "neurotic extrovert" on the Myers Briggs, Enneagram or Beaufort Scale. The implication was, "I am what I am", "this is me", "take me or leave me", "I am the result of my experiences", "I am comfortable or come to terms with what I am". Basically what they were saying was, "This is what I am and I am not changing, live with it"!

It is the absolute opposite of Jesus' message of "Repent", of change.

The symbolism of being smeared with ash as a symbol of sin says much about the nature of sin. It clings to us, it obscures the fact we are made in the image and likeness of God.
For those who are baptised we can never actually be anything other than the Sons of God, "for what Christ is by nature we have become by adoption". Sin. for the baptised can never substantially change our nature, it can obscure our Sonship but never remove it.
Like ash, like leprosy sin is not of our nature, it can be pretty deeprooted, but it is removable, it is not part of us, we not are trapped it, we can actually live without it.
Catholicism tells to hate sin and any attachment to it, it is possible to do it without hating ourselves.