Today is Ash Wednesday (March 1). Maybe you’ve noticed people walking around with a dark mark on their foreheads. What is it and why do people do that?
Glad you asked…
What It Means
The marks on the head is ash and today is called “Ash Wednesday.” Ash Wednesday in the beginning of a forty day period that is meant to heighten the faithful Roman Catholic to remember their sinfulness and to ask God for His forgiveness, while recognizing the death of Christ on the cross.
Where It Came From
This is a little more difficult to pin down. Some would say Ash Wednesday can be traced back to the 960 AD writing given to German Catholics in order to observe a special time of mourning for sin.
Others would claim that Gregory the Great (590-604), famed for his “Gregorian Chants,” instituted this liturgy in the 6th century. Citing that the name ‘Day of Ashes’ comes from “Dies Cinerum” in the Roman Missal found in the earliest existing copies of Gregory’s liturgical instructions.
Still others would point to the Old Testament and the use of ashes to promote change of heart (e.g. Nineveh and its response to Jonah’s message of repentance) and to advertise to all that a change of lifestyle has happend.
The early church also used ash on the forehead to as part of a penitent person’s consequence for committing sin. It would tell the community of some act of wrong and also promote the need for that community to pray for the penitent person who had the ash on their head. It would also promote encouraging, the individual doing the penance, courage in turning from the particular lifestyle they were engaged.
So, there you have it in a nutshell. Regardless of how you feel regarding this ritual (by the way, I believe firmly that this is an outgrowth of a man-centered sacramental based system), isn’t there something communal regarding this among those who participate? I mean, is I had ash on my forehead and I saw another person with the same ash, wouldn’t I feel a connection with that person? Do we have anything like this in the Protestant church?
Bonus Knowledge:
The day before Ash Wednesday is popularly known as Mardi Gras (or “Fat Tuesday”). It has developed into a time of partying and carousing, exemplified by the extravagant celebration in New Orleans.
Should the celebration of Lent be given more thought? Although Lent is a Catholic tradition, the practice of Self-Denial, or fasting, is rarely practiced by Protestants? George Herbert, the famous 17th century Christian Poet used to fast every Friday and practiced Lent. He wrote an entire poem on it.
I’m not saying we need to throw ourselves into the cloister, but maybe we should think about self-denial more often, in order to focus are thoughts more on Christ, and take a step back to examine our own hearts. I’m not proselyting to the Catholic faith, but just a thought.
Yes, I agree. As Protestants, we are often guilty of “throwing the baby out with the bath water.” Therefore, I believe we have lost legitimate aspects of liturgical observations. In the quest for relevance and to free ourselves from the moorings of a denominational hierarchy, we also jettison values such as Lent. I couldn not agree more without changing my name to Tyler.
By the way, you have something against the cloister?
FYI.
Lent is a forty-day period before Easter that relates, symbolically, to the temptation of Christ. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Lent begins on March 1, 2006 and ends on 15 April 2006 which is the day before Easter.
Sunday’s are skipped in the count due to the fact that it is a rest day and symbolic of the resurrection day.
In the Roman Catholic Church, Lent officially ends at sundown on 13 April (Holy Thursday), with the beginning of the mass celebrating the Lord’s Supper.
Yes, great idea! We should have a GF sponsored Lent retreat to The Cloister.
It may be crowded during Lent though, maybe we should wait a few months until Summer. ;^)