LENT … (40-2)

What’s that smudge? You’ve got something on your forehead.

Every year, we see this. And it seems the practice is growing.

What is actually happening? This practice of having a cross smudged upon ones forehead has connections to a slew of traditions. We know of sack cloth and ashes all through the Bible and in throughout Ancient Middle East cultures. The cross is at the heart of Christianity. The practice of Lent has so many traditions connected to it.

And through all this, this act is a personal and public proclamation of one’s mortality and penitence. It shows ones need for reconciliation that can be found in Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross.

Ash Wednesday is the official first day of Lent. It is a day of fasting – which shouldn’t be hard if you loaded up on pancakes on Shrove Tuesday.

The ashes themselves are not to be normal ashes. They should be ashes from the palms used in the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebration. It is not one of the sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church; so according the RCC , the ashes can be placed on anyone regardless of their standing with the RCC.

MEMENTO MORI

It is a reminder that we are mortal, these bodies are dust. And, to dust we will return..

AD 601

Ash Wednesday became the official start of Lent in the year 601! It used to be a practice to have the penitent to practice social isolation for 40 days, but that practice didn’t last long.

SIN & SORROW – – HOPE & JOY

But don’t let the thrust on mortality and penitence and sorrow make this a negative experience. It is also a reminder of the promise of eternal life and forgiveness and joy and hope. That is Ash Wednesday. A day overflowing with emotions that is a personal reflection of how much God loves us, sinners who need that love.

Whether you practice this or not, the call to repentance and promise hope are always good.