Ash Wednesday With A Meaning
(March 5, 2014)

Rev. Fr. Paul Lelen Haokip *

Ashes imposed on the forehead of a Christian on Ash Wednesday :: Pix - Wikipedia/Oxh973

INTRODUCTION:

Genesis 3:19 reads, "By the sweat of your brow, you will produce food to eat until you return to the ground, because you were taken from it. You are dust, and you will return to dust." When a Hindu goes to the temple, he/she is invariably marked with the sandal wood to remind himself/herself about that holy act to be performed or accomplished. This mark is the grounded power paste of sandal wood which grows from the earth. This is also a reminder of the mortality and transient nature of human life. On a special day like Ash Wednesday, you find the Catholics marked with ashes on their foreheads proclaiming with action of the mortality of life and the onset of Lent Season.

ASH WEDNESDAY:

In the Roman Catholic Church (1.2 billion people), Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the season of preparation for the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. In the Eastern Catholic Churches, the first day of Lent is Clean Monday. This year, Ash Wednesday falls on March 5, 46 days before Easter 2014. At the beginning of Lent, on Ash Wednesday, ashes are blessed during Mass, after the homily.

The blessed ashes are then "imposed" on the faithful as a sign of conversion, penance, fasting and human mortality. The ashes are blessed at least during the first Mass of the day, but they may also be imposed during all the Masses of the day, after the homily, and even outside the time of Mass to meet the needs of the faithful. Priests or deacons normally impart this sacramental, but instituted acolytes, other extraordinary ministers or designated lay people may be delegated to impart ashes, if the bishop judges that this is necessary.

The ashes are made from the palms used at the previous Passion Sunday ceremonies. Ash Wednesday is a day of strict fastingand abstinence. Abstinence from eating meat is to be observed on all Fridays during Lent. This applies to all persons 14 and older. The law of fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday applies to all Catholics from age 18 through age 59.

WHY ASHES ON THE FOREHEAD:

"All humanity would perish together and mankind would return to the dust' (Job 34:15). Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes' Genesis 18:27. The act of putting on ashes symbolizes fragility and mortality and the need to be redeemed by the mercy of God. Far from being a merely external act, the Church has retained the use of ashes to symbolize that attitude of internal penance to which all the baptized are called during Lent.

From the very early times the commemoration of the approach of Christ's passion and death was observed by a period of self-denial. St. Athanasius in the year 339 enjoined upon the people of Alexandria the 40 days' fast he saw practiced in Rome and elsewhere, "to the end that while all the world is fasting, we who are in Egypt should not become a laughing stock as the only people who do not fast but take our pleasure in those days." On Ash Wednesday in the early days, the Pope went barefoot to St. Sabina's in Rome "to begin with holy fasts the exercises of Christian warfare, that as we do battle with the spirits of evil, we may be protected by the help of self-denial."

SHOULD CATHOLICS KEEP THEIR ASHES ON ALL DAY ON ASH WEDNESDAY?

The practice of receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday is a popular devotion for Roman Catholics (and even for certain Protestants). Even though Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation, many Catholics attend Mass on Ash Wednesday in order to receive the ashes, which are sprinkled on top of their heads (the practice in Europe) or rubbed on their foreheads in the form of the Cross (the practice in the United States). As the priest distributes the ashes, he tells each Catholic, "Remember, man, you are dust, and to dust you shall return," or "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel"—a reminder of our mortality and of our need to repent before it is too late.

Anyone who receives ashes can decide for himself/herself how long he/she wishes to keep them on. While most Catholics keep them on at least throughout Mass (if they receive them before or during Mass), a person could choose to rub them off immediately. And while many Catholics keep their Ash Wednesday ashes on until bedtime, there's no requirement that they do so unless personally chosen.

Wearing one's ashes throughout the day on Ash Wednesday helps us remember why we received them in the first place, and it can be a good way to humble ourselves at the very beginning of Lent, especially if we have to go out in public. Still, those who feel uncomfortable wearing their ashes outside of church, or those who, because of jobs or other duties, cannot keep them on all day should not worry about removing them. In the same way, if your ashes naturally fall off, or if you accidentally rub them off, there is no need to be concerned.

Far more important is observing the rules of fasting and abstinence, because Ash Wednesday is a day of strict fasting and abstinence from all meat and food made with meat.

The rules for fasting and abstinence in the Catholic Church are set forth in the Code of Canon Law (for the Roman Catholic Church) and in the Code of Canons of Oriental Churches (for the Eastern Catholic Churches). To a limited extent, they can be modified by the conference of bishops for each particular country (or, in the Eastern Churches, for each particular rite).

The Rules for the Roman Catholic Church:

The Code of Canon Law prescribes (Canons 1250-1252): Can. 1250: The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.
Can. 1251: Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Can. 1252: The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning.

The Rules for the Eastern Catholic Churches:

For the Eastern Catholic Churches, the Code of Canons of Oriental Churches prescribes (Canon 882): Can. 882: On the days of penance the Christian faithful are obliged to observe fast or abstinence in the manner established by the particular law of their Church sui iuris. Thus, Eastern Catholics should check with the governing body for their particular rite.

CONCLUSION:

Let us end this reflection with the words of Pope Francis, "Dear brothers and sisters, may this Lenten season find the whole Church ready to bear witness to all those who live in material, moral and spiritual destitution of the Gospel message of the merciful love of God our Father, who is ready to embrace everyone in Christ. We can do this to the extent that we imitate Christ who became poor and enriched us by his poverty. Lent is a fitting time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty. Let us not forget that real poverty hurts: no self-denial is real without this dimension of penance. I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt'. Take life as a pilgrimage and walk the ways of life with meaning.