Remember You Are Dust...

 ( FAQ's about Ash Wednesday are below!)
While working for a parish, we had a maxim: More people come to Mass when we are giving away something.

Translation: Ash Wednesday.... Palm Sunday...

For some reason, even the nominal Catholics manage to make it to Mass on Ash Wednesday. Perhaps it is because they believe it is a holy day of obligation ( it is not)...but if it gets them there, we'll take it.

After the excesses of Mardi Gras ( and perhaps a paczki or two too many), Ash Wednesday is a subdued celebration.

Celebration?

Yes. It is the beginning of our own, personal desert experience modeled after Jesus' own 40 days fighting temptation and the Israelites' 40 years of wandering.  We set before ourselves a challenge- to enter this time of preparation and use it to become closer to the Lord, and- as I have said before- to become better people on Easter Sunday than we were on Ash Wednesday.

By now, we each should have looked into our hearts and found them in need of spring cleaning. The sacrifices and challenges we choose for ourselves are often more difficult than someone else would choose for us- and we also judge our compliance more harshly. So much so, that- like New Year's resolutions, many a Lenten promise falls by the wayside, never to be taken up again.

Timothy Cardinal Dolan  reminds us not to get discouraged, "We’ve got a Lord who’s not so much concerned with what we’ve done in the past as with what we’re doing today- so cast out into the deep!”

So if you miss a day of exercise, toss a piece of candy in your mouth absentmindedly, or forget to pray.... that's alright.

It's not a sin. Your Lenten sacrifice is between you and the Big Guy. Start again. However many times you need to- just keep going, keep trying.

...and when Easter Sunday dawns, you can walk out of the tomb a better person than you are today. 

Why ashes?

The ashes represent the old sackcloth-and-ashes penances of the old days. They also remind us that everything we do in this life will end up as nothing but ash- and that includes our own lives. Hence the phrase uttered as the ashes are imposed: Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return. ( "Repent and believe in the Gospel" is the other option, but it sure lacks the punch of the former)

It is only through the Cross of Jesus Christ that anything we say or do in this life as any value. Those ashes are a stark and humbling reminder.

Where do the ashes come from?

Traditionally, the ashes are from the burning of  old Palm Sunday palms. Nowadays, most churches order their ashes from a church supply company. For sign value, some churches will burn the palms for their Ash Wednesday use....  hopefully after they cool- and it takes some time for them to cool, as many have learned the hard way!

Can only Catholics receive ashes?

Ashes are a sacramental, and are not limited to reception by Catholics. An increasing number of non-Catholic churches are having Ash Wednesday services and non-Catholics may receive ashes at an Catholic church. Non-Catholics may not receive the Eucharist or other sacraments at a Catholic church.

How long must I leave the ashes on my forehead?

There is no rule about leaving them. If your job requires it, you may wash them off after the Mass/ service. However, the ashes are a powerful sign! In 2001, I had some business to attend to on Ash Wednesday, immediately after morning Mass. On woman I met with pointed out to me that I had "some dirt" on my forehead. She was Presbyterian and her church was having its first-ever ash service that evening. We had a wonderful discussion about ashes, Lent and Lenten practices in our faiths!

Some siblings have contests to see who can keep the ashes visible the longest....until Mom makes them wash their faces!

Who must abstain from meat?

Catholics age 14 and older should abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent. Younger than 14? Teach them young! The difference is that younger those younger than 14 are not bound by the rule because they may not fully understand it.

As a side note, the point of abstaining from meat is to make a sacrifice. Bypassing steak and having lobster and shrimp instead is not exactly a sacrifice. These meatless meals should be simple and sacrificial. Traditional Lenten meals in the Alderman home are : Potato Pancakes, Potato Soup, Homemade Pierogies, Macaroni and Cheese, Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup, Fish and Tater Tots, Tuna Casserole, Spaghetti and  Meatless Sauce

How does fasting work?

Catholics who are age 18 and have not yet reached their 65th birthday are obligated to fast. Fasting means they may eat one complete meal, and the balance of the food eaten during the day should not be greater than  a one-meal amount. Days of fast are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception- Dec. 8

(La Purísima Inmaculada Concepción by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1678, now in Museo del Prado, Spain)

This is probably one of the most misunderstood celebrations in the Catholic Church- for both Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

First- a quick explanation.... while the Immaculate Conception is USUALLY a holy day of obligation (meaning we are obligated to attend Mass- or a vigil- for the day), the obligation is waived if the holy day falls on a Saturday or a Monday. HOWEVER, since Our Lady, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, is patroness of the United states, it is still a hold day for those of us in America.

The confusion about exactly what we are celebrating stems from two things: the atrocious lack of decent catechesis from the mid 1960's on, although there are some good, faithful and educated catechists out here. Really- there are.  The other problem is the choice of the Gospel reading for the day: Luke 1:26-38... the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary.

You see, the Immaculate Conception does have something to do with that moment in scripture ( see The Visitation ) ... but not the way most people imagine.

The Immaculate Conception we are talking about is not the conception of Jesus Christ in the womb of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is part of the Virgin Birth. The Immaculate Conception to which we refer is the conception of Mary in her mother's womb. (Count forward nine months and you will find the Church celebrates the birthday of Mary on September 8th)

Now, before my non-Catholic friends get bent out of shape, the Church teaches that Mary was conceived the good old-fashioned way: through the marital embrace of her parents. By tradition, we call them Anne and Joachim.

The difference between Mary's conception and ours is that at the moment of her conception, by the merits of Jesus Christ and through a singular act of grace, she was kept free of the stain of original sin.

In fact, Gabriel's greeting to Mary tells us there was, indeed, something very special about this young woman: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!. Full of grace.... if she was full of grace, there was no room for unsavory things- like sin.

Ah, you may say- but in Luke 1:47, Mary clearly says, "My spirit rejoices in God my savior." Mary needed a savior, so she could not have been sinless. Bam!

Step back for a moment and imagine.... You are walking through a dark woods and you fall into a deep pit filled with muck and slime and goo. I come along and pull you out. Did I save you? Yes.   Now imagine that right before you fall into the pit, I block your path and keep you from falling in. Did I save you? Yep, sure did.

...and that is what happened with Mary. The Lord saved Mary by preserving her from original sin.

And where is that in scripture? Well, we'll start by saying that nowhere in scripture does it say that everything about the Christian faith is contained in scripture. Nowhere. Even if it did, the canon of scripture was not even settled until the Council of Rome in 392, under Pope Damasus. So any reference to scripture contained in scripture can only refer to the Hebrew Scriptures. That is another topic for another day.

What is crucial here is nothing about the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is contrary to scripture.

Some people will argue that there was no need for Mary to have been so created. Perhaps- though here is a story that illustrate why God may have chosen to do so.

               Once upon a time, a baker decided to show his gratitude to the Lord for the blessings he had been given. He talked it over with his wife, and they decided they would make an offering of loaves of bread. The baker took the bread to the temple, placed the loaves before the ark, then departed. The caretaker came by and found the bread. Furious, he gathered the loaves and took them to the rabbi, "Look! Someone has desecrated the ark!" The rabbi realized the bread was an offering, and the donor meant no harm. He told the caretaker to give the bread to the poor.
              The following week, the baker returned with fresh loaves, intending to replace the old ones. When he saw the first bread was gone, he was excited and ran home to tell his wife that the Lord had accepted their gift. Later, the caretaker came again, and again found the bread, and again was enraged. Again, he took the bread to the rabbi, who told him to give the bread to the poor.
               A week later, the caretaker had had enough. He hid, waiting for the mysterious bread delivery. When the baker entered, the caretaker jumped out and the baker dropped the loaves as the caretaker chased him from the temple. The rabbi- who witnessed what had happened- picked up the loaves with tears in his eyes, knowing the baker would never return again with bread...and that the families who had received the loaves would be hungry.

I heard this story in a homily many years ago. It had nothing to do with the context in which I use it here, but it makes a point.
           Why was the caretaker upset? The presence of the worldly, common bread was not appropriate before the ark. Why? The ark was the holiest place in the temple, it contained the Torah: the Word of God.

Looking back to the original ark- the Ark of the Covenant (check Exodus 25 for the details)- we can see that God demanded the finest materials: gold, silver, bronze... fabrics dyed violet, purple and scarlet- the most expensive dyes...spices, oils and gemstones. The materials had to be the best.... God would dwell there. And no one messed with the Ark, or else. ( warning: graphic content!)

(Some of you see where I am going here...)

Where was the first dwelling place of God Made Man, the Word of God made Flesh, Jesus Christ? The womb of Mary, his mother. It is only good and right and just that his first earthly dwelling be as perfect as possible.

As God, he did just that.

Now, some history behind the Immaculate Conception.....

There is evidence that Mary's pureness and holiness was celebrated as early as the 5th century,  however  the formal proclamation of the Immaculate Conception took place in 1856:

     We declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary, at 

      the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace of the Omnipotent God, in 

      virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, was preserved immaculate from all 

      stain of original sin, has been revealed by God, and therefore should firmly and constantly be 

      believed by all the faithful.

                 —Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, December 8, 1854

As with many formal declarations of the Church ( and other, more worldly institutions), they do not appear out of thin air. They are part of what is called the development of doctrine, an unfolding of the truths of the faith. Such declarations are meant to put in one place the belief of the Church, and usually correct errors that tend to creep into un-formalized teachings. (note the painting above was done nearly 200 years before the formal proclamation)   Martin Luther, who initiated the Protestant Reformation, said: "Mary is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin. God's grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil" (Luther's Works, American edition, vol. 43, p. 40, ed. H. Lehmann, Fortress, 1968)

In 1858 in Lourdes, France, a 14 year-old girl named Bernadette Soubirous saw a vision of a beautiful woman. The woman told Bernadette, "I am the Immaculate Conception." Bernadette had no idea what this meant; it was not a term a peasant child would have heard.

In 1792, Bishop John Carrol (first bishop of the United States) placed our country under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC is the largest Catholic Church in the United States, the 8th largest religious structure in the world, and is well worth your time on a visit to DC...even if you are not Catholic.

So, if you stuck with me to this point- I hope you learned something...or at least found words that will help you explain this beautiful part of our Catholic faith.

Sign up to get new posts automatically, or bookmark this blog. If you have a topic you would like me to discuss, let me know....and feel free to comment below!