Last week I talked about Lent, but really wanted to do a brief study for you on why we as Catholics observe Ash Wednesday. Although the Eastern Church doesn't observe Ash Wednesday, it is an integral part of the Western Church calendar. I think it is probably appropriate to give some historical background on the custom first, and then also some Scriptural background, as it has a lot to do with both the Sacraments of Baptism as well as with ancient customs of mourning.
The practice of observing Ash Wednesday as the first day of Lent originated with St. Gregory the Great during his reign as Pope in the 6th/7th centuries. The ashes come from the previous year's palm branches, which are incinerated and the resulting ash is then mixed with incense and either Holy Chrism or holy water and at the Ash Wednesday Mass they are distributed by the priest, marking each communicant on the forehead with the sign of the cross traced with the ashes while he says "Remember man, from dust thou hast come and to dust thou shalt return." The purpose of this was to remind the communicant of several things:
1. Genesis 2:7 reminds us that we were created from God from the dust, and into our being he breathed life.
2. Genesis 3:19 reminds us of our mortality - because of sin and death, our bodies naturally return to dust once the life leaves them (as also affirmed by natural science as well).
3. Job 30:19 is a potent reminder of our own repentance that we must pursue if we allow sin to happen through us - ashes, in this case, are a sign of sorrow.
4. Many passages from Ecclesiastes during the entirety of the Lenten season serve to remind us as well of our mortality, and the mourning aspect of ashes comes into focus there.
In ancient times, the idea of "sackcloth and ashes" was one often associated with a corporate time of contrition in lieu of a calamity such as famine, or it also was a form of mourning the dead (Note Matthew 11:21 as well as Psalm 102:10). This carried over even into ascetic penitential practices in the early Church, where often "sackcloth and ashes" were donned to indicate a personal penance was being undertaken. The incineration of the previous year's palms also provides a sort of liturgical continuity with the Church calendar in that a sacramental is still a sacramental whether it is a branch or a pile of ash. This physical action of the administration of ashes is therefore an ideal start to a penitential season as Lent is.
There are those among more Fundamentalist Protestant sects who have serious issues with the imposition of ashes, in that they view this as a "display of piety" and thus would be, according to their strict Sola Scriptura perspective, some sort of show. This is absurd on so many levels, as to begin with it identifies the person who wears the ash on their forehead as an imperfect being who, although in Christ, still struggles with sin and temptation - far from being "showy," it is a sign of public humility to honestly say that you are not perfect and in need of the grace the Cross gives us. Also, if such detractors think ashes smeared on one's forehead is a fashion statement, let's think about that for a moment - why would anyone do it just to do it? It has no aesthetic value to it, nor is it really even a popular display - the Cross is one of the most hated symbols in our modern society honestly. It is what it is - a sign that we are sorry for our shortcomings, and we acknowledge only the grace afforded by Christ's death and resurrection helps us to overcome such things. Admittedly, there is a sort of pride in wearing them though, in that it shows us God loves us. However, it is not a self-serving pride, as every sacramental action also has an evangelical dimension in that it makes us a visible witness of our Christian faith. The same Fundies who often castigate faithful Catholics for having ash crosses on their foreheads have no problems at all with carrying a Scofield Bible around the size of a Buick, and oftentimes they do advertise for show when they do that, although they also think they are being "witnesses." In reality though, said Fundamentalists often use the Bible to communicate a sort of stuck-up triumphalism at the "sinners" around them, seeing God's Word as a sort of "badge of holiness." In short, they really have no room to accuse Catholics of "show" for having ashes on our heads one day a year when they themselves need a small cart to wheel around the giant Scofield that makes them look all "Christian" or something. These people make me think of Ned Flanders on the old Simpsons cartoons, although Ned was a heck of a lot nicer than some of them.
Artistic rendering of King Hezekiah in sackcloth and ashes calling for a time of corporate national repentance for his people.
Bottom line of this is that Ash Wednesday represents for us a time of self-examination - it is one we should be doing every day honestly, but the pressures of life often make this impossible so the Church has set aside a season for us to do it in Lent. Also, given that the Lenten season is traditionally also a time for catechumens to prepare for reception into the Church, it serves to remind us of our own commitment to Christ and our joining with the catechumens also communicates that even those older in the faith still need the grace of God to work within their lives too. It goes without saying then that Ash Wednesday is not unscriptural nor is it some sort of self-righteous "showmanship" on the part of "them Catholics," but rather is a full expression and tangible demonstration of what our need for God is, and in contrast to pride or self-righteousness, the Lenten season conveys the opposite - we are not, in and of ourselves, righteous at all, and it is only through the grace of Christ that we gain righteousness. At the conclusion of this time, we then celebrate at Easter the fulness of that grace, through His Resurrection and victory over sin and death. In a couple of weeks, I will further examine Holy Week, in particular Palm Sunday, and I am also contemplating how the drama of the Gospel story is played out in these seasons of the Church year. And, as I close, here is a lighthearted Catholic humor item to show that even a penitential season still affirms that a little laughter is the best medicine at times:
