Saturday, February 28
ash wednesday
You're not Catholic? Don't get why we have Ash Wednesday and put ashes on our foreheads? Here's answers to that question that I hope does help. :D
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There are those Catholics who check in for services on Christmas and Easter twice a year and pretend they’re visiting from out of town. Then there are those Catholics who choose to go the extra mile and attend Mass on Ash Wednesday, thus increasing their holiness by nearly 50%. It is a not-so-subtle way of proving you’ve been to Mass and works better than showing off a Sunday bulletin.
The use of ash is a “delible” sign of our mortality and the dust that we shall return to. The tradition that man is dust stretches way back to Adam, who, like Flint Marko, was actually was made out of dust, and to Abraham who interceded for Sodom and prayed, “Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.” Of course the joyful prophets and other fun Old Testament characters like Job and Mordecai used ashes and sackcloth in their daily devotions. While Jeremiah and Ezekiel were wallowing in ash, the even more penitential King David says in Psalm 102 that he ate ash like it was bread. No doubt he was using a Hamilton Beach toaster.
The solemn use of ash was also popular in the early church and was used to mark those who had been temporarily excommunicated for committing serious sins. By the 7th century the practice had become associated with the first day of Lent. Sinners would confess their sins privately to a bishop and then be enrolled in the ranks of the penitents for public absolution. Wearing ash and sackcloth, these people would be expelled from the community like Adam and Eve from the garden, and their penance and abstinence would last the forty days of lent.
Modern Catholics believe that cleanliness is next to godliness and that dressing well honors our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit. Needless to say, wearing potato sacks and dumping ash on our heads at the doors of our parish for forty days is seldom seen these days. What we have retained is the practice of marking our foreheads with ash made from the burned palms of the previous Passion Sunday. Some delicate people prefer to receive the ash from a woman with small fingers while the more zealous beeline for the man with the giant thumb. At one local parish the priest beams when he gives ash to bald men. To him it means a bigger forehead and he uses the whole canvas.
In Mexico City the Faithful are so enthusiastic (and numerous) that the inventive Franciscans had to develop a new way of distributing ashes to shorten the service. They mix the ash with a measure of holy oil to make it more paste-like and less dusty. Then they have 6-8 people stand side-by-side while they stamp their foreheads with a special tool. This stamp is not available from any church goods supplier and it is rumored that each Friar must build his own as a rite of passage, like a Jedi builds his lightsaber. An experienced priest can stamp up to 10 heads while saying the words from Genesis, “Recuerda, hombre, que eres ceniza y en ceniza te convertirás”.
The New Testament tells us to not to look dismal when we fast and to wash our faces so that our sacrifices are known by God and not by men. If it is hard to reconcile ash and sackcloth with Matthew 16 then perhaps it is time go shopping. You could always try Sak’s Fifth Ave where they specialize in the latest in Catholic penitential fashion, like this classy sack cloth halter top.
www.stuffcatholicslike.com
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Q: Where in the Bible do we get the “ashes” thing from – like on Ash Wednesday? What does it have to do with Lent and why do we still do it? Is it just because of tradition? It seems kind of outdated to put dirt on our foreheads and walk around so I know there must be deeper reason. Can you help me Bible Geek?
First, it reminds us that we were physically created from nothingness, from the ground (the dirt or the dust in some translations):
“…the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.” - Genesis 2:7
Next, the ashes remind us that not only did we begin as dirt, but that we’re pretty much gonna end up that way…again, physically:
“By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; for you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return.” - Genesis 3:19
Yes, it is a tradition. You revealed a good point, though, because if we don’t understand the significance of the tradition, it may just seem like a meaningless, outdated practice, which it really is not. It is a beautiful and humble action, that links us to our brothers and sisters in Christ who have gone before us in faith (died and risen with Christ in Heaven). One thing I always want to remind myself, however, and that I always try to caution others on is that just because we don’t understand something does not make it “meaningless” or “outdated” – like many people in modern culture sometimes make the mistake of believing. Ashes, fasting, self-sacrifice, repentance and penance are all actions that draw us to God, both spiritually and physically – (just like participation in the Sacraments). These kinds of activities are found in several places throughout the Sacred Scriptures. To name a few:
“Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance: That a man bow his head like a reed, and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?” - Isaiah 58:5
“Taking off her splendid garments, she put on garments of distress and mourning. In place of her precious ointments she covered her head with dirt and ashes. She afflicted her body severely; all her festive adornments were put aside, and her hair was wholly disheveled.” - Esther 4 C:13
“Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long tunic in which she was clothed. Then, putting her hands to her head, she went away crying loudly.” - 2 Samuel 13:19
“Judith threw herself down prostrate, with ashes strewn upon her head, and wearing nothing over her sackcloth. While the incense was being offered in the temple of God in Jerusalem that evening, Judith prayed to the Lord with a loud voice…” - Judith 9:1
As you can see, the practice of using ashes within repentance is Biblical and dates back thousands of years.
Put simply, in our modern context and within the Ash Wednesday liturgies, ashes still have a lot of meaning:
- Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent, our preparation for Holy Week, most especially the Triduum, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.
- We receive ashes upon our foreheads (in the shape of a cross) to serve as a visible, outward sign of our sinfulness and our need for repentance.
- The ashes are a symbol of our physical mortality, reminding us that some day our bodies are going to die and return to dust – reminding us further that it is our souls that are eternal. That is why most parishes utter the prayer, “Thou (you) art (are) dust, and to dust thou (you) shall return.”
Lent kicks…ash.
C’mon…that was funny.
-Bible Geek
www.lifeteen.com
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Lent has started on Wednesday. That kind of brought up feelings of need to repair my relationships with people, myself and ultimately God. It is high time I do something about being a better Catholic and truly live out my faith.
Happy Vegetarian Month to all Catholics. ;)
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