February 13, 2013 - Ash Wednesday! This marks the beginning of the Lenten Season for Catholics and some other denominations. Unlike the olden days, we have things a whole lot easier as our only days of Fast are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The lenient ‘no meat' rule of recent times is rescinded and all Fridays in Lent are ones of abstinence. Although I have heard a few priests, over the years, remind the congregations about this, I don't think the message actually gets through to the majority. I remember taking my children to Costco one Friday during Lent for a meatless snack. The snack area was packed with people and I'm sure a majority of them were Catholic yet every person sitting there was having something with meat.
Ash Wednesday is also the day everyone comes out of the woodwork and even if they haven't attended Mass the rest of the year, they show up for the ‘free' ashes. Some people actually think that you will have bad luck if you don't receive the ashes on Ash Wednesday. Seems to me, one would face worse than bad luck to only attend Mass once a year. I remember shopping one Ash Wednesday after Mass and a woman ahead of me in line at the check out kept staring at me. When she walked over, I was prepared to explain and defend the ashes on my forehead. Surprisingly, she asked, "Where did you get those and did you have to attend Mass to get them?"
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. According to the Church year, it occurs 46 days before Easter and is a ‘moveable' feast which can be on the calendar as early as February 4th our as late as March 10th.
According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert. Ash Wednesday is our 40-day liturgical period of fasting and prayer. We get the name Ash Wednesday by the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of the people. This reminds us of our mortality and of our repentance. The ashes used are gathered from the burning of the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday.
The one aspect I dislike about the Ash Wednesdays of recent years are the untrained extraordinary ministers distributing ashes. The solemnity of the occasion is often marred by the female ministers who grin and greet people they know as they haphazardly smear on ashes. I guess that it might be God's way of getting us ready for offering up sacrifices for the duration of Lent!
Just remember that if you are a Catholic, know that Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation. You will not have bad/good luck depending on whether you receive ashes or not. One person actually told me that when I wiped off ashes that had gotten into my eyes and nose that I had to turn in the used tissue to the priest as it had to be burned in respect. Not so. No meat today or on the Fridays of Lent. If you are an adult, fasting today and Good Friday. And since this is the beginning of a penitential season, try not to trample other people in line for ashes. I'm sure the priest has enough to go around!
