Ash Wednesday
A few years ago,
I had to write a letter of defense for someone who had lost their job because
she insisted on wearing the customary ashes of Ash Wednesday to work. The
following might help you if you run into the same difficulty...
The question has been raised concerning the practice of the public display of the wearing of Ashes to celebrate the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. The custom itself find its roots in the Hebrew tradition of covering oneself with ashes during a time of mourning or repentance. The outward sign is significant in the Roman Catholic Tradition, for it gives witness to an identity.On Ash Wednesday, preferably during Mass, but not restricted to it, ashes are applied to the forehead of the believer. Why the forehead"... one might ask. The answer to this is very simple. The forehead is visible. Just like any other sign that signifies the state of being of a person such as a wedding ring or engagement ring (also religious in significance in origin and still for many), ashes are a visible adornment that clearly emphasizes something about the person. The forehead of the person is the most logical place since this is the part of the body that was anointed with the Oil of the Catechumen just prior to Baptism. It is the part of the body that is anointed at the Sacrament of Confirmation. It is the part of the body that is anointed along with the hands at the Sacrament of the Sick. It is the part of the body by which we remind ourselves of Baptism through the blessing with Holy Water. In the earliest traditions of Ashes, the element of ashes were poured over the entire head and body.
For the Catholic, Ashes play an important role for the day. The first day of Lent is celebrated as an entire day, just as a wedding ring would be a sign "until death." It signifies the union of believers and their common bond of repentance for sins and great respect for the Passion of Him who we believe to be Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. They are generally burnt palms from Palm Sunday of the previous year. This sign reminds us of the "hosannas" sung in vain throughout the years, as vain as those shouted and sung before Jesus the week before He died. They are blessed with one of two prayers:
Lord, bless the sinner who asks forgiveness and bless all who receive these ashes. May they keep the Lenten season in preparation for the joy or Easter.
or
Lord, bless these ashes by which we show that we are dust. Pardon our sins and keep us faithful to the discipline of Lent, for you do not want sinners to die but to live with the risen Christ, who reigns with you for ever and ever.
When they are imposed, two formula are generally used:
Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.
or
Remember, man, you are dust and to dust you will return.
These formulae
remind us that "the wages of sin is death" and that the death we suffer
is life giving when it is a death to self and a new life in Christ through
repentance. They remind us of the original intent just prior to Baptism
and are applied in the same place and in the same manner as the Oil of
the Catechumen. The only reason for distributing ashes on another part
of the body would be an open wound or something of that nature, just as
a person who has lost a hand would possibly wear a wedding band on the
other hand. Considering that ashes are merely carbon, they pose no danger
to anyone around who would normally be exposed to carbon paper or writing
instruments that use carbon. They pose no more threat than that of cosmetics,
for they too are an outward adornment of beauty of forgiveness.
People adorn themselves with may things which give personal meaning to their appearance, whether it be cosmetics, jewelry (wedding rings, hearts, crosses, Star of David, etc.), hemlines, ties, etc. This custom or wearing Ashes for one day of the year can be seen as any other custom (i.e. women of India and the dot on their forehead). They pose no danger to any person who comes in contact with them. The person wearing the Ashes should not be speaking of them unless asked. They are not to be used to coerce another into believing as the wearer does. It is simply meaningful to the person wearing them and would only have significance to those who might be interested and ask about them as any other adornment.
Hopefully, this short explanation will help the reader understand the minimal significance of the custom.
