Ashes visible on forehead open up opportunity to evangelize

How is it that the most popular day in the Christian calendar has escaped the hype of Madison Avenue?

There is no jolly fat bearded man with whom to take pictures or cute fuzzy rabbits hiding eggs for the children.

You will see no Ash Wednesday sales at the mall. But churches will be filled to the rafters.

It’s hard to sell death and repentance; “you are dust and to dust you shall return” does not make for a good greeting card slogan.

Still, Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Lenten season, is a powerful draw. More people go to church on Ash Wednesday than go to Sunday Mass. More come to have ashes placed on their foreheads than to receive the Eucharist.
So what is the big draw?

“We identify as a people in need of repentance, in need of Christ’s help,” Msgr. Michael Howel said. “We have a better sense of ourselves as sinners rather than saints.”

While not a day of obligation, it is a day of fasting and abstinence. Ash Wednesday is observed 40 days before Good Friday. This year that will fall on Feb. 22.

Administering ashes is sacramental, but it is not a sacrament; it does not have its origins with Jesus. While the idea of wearing sackcloth and laying on ashes was commonplace with Old Testament Jews, there is no real biblical history for the idea of Ash Wednesday. The connection between repentance and ashes, however, is quite clear.

In the Book of Judith a passage describes the enthusiasm with which the people prayed and did penance: “All the Israelite men, women and children who lived in Jerusalem prostrated themselves in front of the temple building, with ashes strewn on their heads, displaying their sackcloth covering before the Lord.”

After their populations dismissed his message, Jesus chastised the towns where he had performed many of the miracles described in the Gospel of Matthew: “Woe to you Chorazin! Woe to you Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have long ago repented in sackcloth and ashes.”

It would be another 1,000 years before Ash Wednesday would take hold in the Catholic Church. At first, it was considered almost a second baptism for those penitents who had fallen into sin. The making of a cross on the forehead with ashes is reminiscent of the baptismal sign made with water.

In the Middle Ages, the emphasis shifted from renewal to repentance. Ash Wednesday came to be seen as a way to avoid punishment for the sufferings of Christ. The Second Vatican Council, however, shifted the emphasis back to one of renewal and conversion.

Many still see Ash Wednesday as a time of repentance for Christ’s suffering. It marks the beginning of the important penitential season of Lent. It is a time to repent and unite our penance with the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. It is a season of fasting, reflection and penance to prepare us for Jesus Christ’s Resurrection on Easter.

The church’s theology, however, calls for people to reflect more on their relationships today.

The ashes are made from burning the palms used in the previous Palm Sunday. They are blessed with holy water and ancient prayers.

Since Ash Wednesday is a weekday, many people go to school or work with ashes on their foreheads. Comments about having dirt on one’s face are quite common. It is a good opportunity to evangelize and to witness the faith.

“The best way to teach good things is to do good things,” Msgr. Howell said. The ashes on the forehead are akin to making the sign of the cross before blessing your meal.

“It shows we are not afraid to proclaim our faith, this is part of who we are,” Msgr. Howell said.