A message from the Catholic Diocese on Ash Wednesday
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me;
He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted…
To comfort all who mourn; to place on those who mourn in Zion a diadem instead of ashes.
Isaiah 61:1-3
Every Ash Wednesday, many of us receive ashes as a continuation of this prophetic passage from Isaiah, acknowledging that our sincere repentance and return to God leads us to the astounding joy of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The ashes that we receive at the beginning of Lent point beyond our sins and failings to the everlasting life that we are given as pure grace at Easter. In Christ’s sacrifice, death and shame is inverted, becoming new life and filial adoption through Christ’s resurrection. This is the Paschal Mystery, that through our participation in his death and resurrection, Christ brings us back to life, anoints us with his Holy Spirit, and nourishes us with his Body, replacing our crown of ashes with a crown of righteousness.
The use of ashes as a mark of repentance is an ancient practice, pre-dating Christianity. In the first six centuries of the Christian Church, the sprinkling of ashes on the head of the sinner was an important part of the ritual of public penance and forgiveness that could only happen once in a person’s life. In addition, catechumens were typically marked with ashes as a part of their preparation for the sacraments of initiation, a demonstration that they were prepared to die to their old lives and sinful ways. Other Christians desired to participate in this renunciation of sin, and the practice of sprinkling ashes over the heads of baptized Christians is mentioned as early as the sixth-century Gregorian Sacramentary; however, it was not until 1091 under Pope Urban II that the sprinkling of ashes on the heads of all believers at the beginning of Lent was formally ritualized throughout the Church.
The practices of both sprinkling and tracing a cross on the forehead were known to our forebears in faith. At that time, it was common to sprinkle the ashes over the heads of men, while women were anointed with a cross of ashes on the forehead, most likely because women typically wore a head-covering of some kind during worship. In the United States, the practice of tracing a cross on the forehead migrated to all Catholics; however, in Europe, as the use of head-coverings waned, the practice of sprinkling ashes over the heads of believers migrated to include both men and women.
This pandemic year has been a year of reversals, of the failure of expectations, of trauma, grief, and separation. All of us need an opportunity for metanoia, for turning to God in our mourning so that we might experience anew the joy of the resurrection. This Ash Wednesday, as ashes are sprinkled on our heads in the ancient European manner, let us all acknowledge the primacy of Christ and the overflowing grace of the resurrection as we repent of our sins and failings, believe in the Good News of God’s unending love, and announce that Gospel by our lives.
Jeanne Marie Miles in the director of the Office for Worship
A message from Bishop Malesic on Lent
A message from Bishop Malesic on the season of Lent: A time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving!
A beautiful characteristic of our Church is its seasons. They are like the movements of a great symphony, gracefully flowing from one to the other, bringing the emotion and meaning of the music to the listener. For the Church, the flow of its seasons is similar. From the joy of the Lord’s Nativity at the Christmas season to the hope of eternal life at Easter time, the Church’s seasons help bring the presence of the Holy Trinity to life in ways that keep the flame of faith burning within our hearts.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, a season of prayer and repentance, a time to for us to seek a conversion of heart leading us to turn away from sin and remain faithful to the Gospel. It is also a time of preparation for the celebration of the paschal mystery -- of Jesus’ passion, death, resurrection and ascension.
In order to prepare for Lent, the Lord calls us to enter into the three spiritual exercises of increased prayer, greater fasting and more generous almsgiving that are directed toward growing our relationships, especially our relationship with him. This Lent, we pray in a very special way for an end to the coronavirus pandemic, for the repose of the souls of those who have died and for their families, for healing and recovery for those sickened by the virus, for the medical community that it receives the strength needed to persevere and for the success of the vaccine programs. We pray that our social distancing and mask wearing will not be necessary for much longer. But we continue to practice charity toward our neighbors by acting in safe ways during this pandemic.
To help with our prayer, I have prepared a daily Lenten reflection calendar that I hope will provide meaningful insight and focus for reflection as we journey together through the season. You will find my daily reflection series on the diocesan website and my social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).
This year, as we journey through the season of Lent to the three days that unfold for us the unity of Christ’s paschal mystery, let us be faithful to the Gospel and give serious attention to how we might encounter others as Jesus did with a deeper compassion and self-sacrificing love for one another. Let us remember the words of St. John Chrysostom who once said, “No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great.” And at the end of this Lent, may we be ready to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. After all, despite our sinfulness, Jesus came back to us — and wants to walk with us always.
May God bless you and those you love.