Ash Wednesday, February 14 is a day of public Catholicism – at St. Patrick’s Cathedral where I offer Mass each morning; and on the street during my walk to work. Our religion is quite evident.
The baptized who have reached the age of reason (usually seven years old) and catechumens may receive ashes and they will do so in great numbers.
Receiving ashes is not an obligation, but it is a traditional and very valuable way to start Lent and make the whole season a time to strengthen our relationship with Jesus, identify our weaknesses, and make up for our sins. Whether you come to church or not on Ash Wednesday, you can and should start Lent in a positive way by committing to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Do at least a little of all three.
When you plan your day, don’t just dash in and get ashes and run. For the best results, you have to give your forehead time to unwrinkle, and you shouldn’t immediately expose the dust to any passing breeze. What we recommend is that you arrive at church early and stay for the entire prayer event. Let your head and heart be touched by a lasting grace.
Why is Ash Wednesday so important and so popular? It is a day that offers all Christians a chance to reconnect with the reality of Jesus and his suffering for us because of sin and death. Deep down, we realize that if we don’t appreciate that, if we don’t commit to his words and his example, and if we don’t do things to show that we recognize our weakness and want his help, then a terrible mistake is made. We may lose our chance for eternal happiness with God and the saints in heaven.
When you are deciding what to eat that day, be mindful that Ash Wednesday, as well as Good Friday are days of fasting. (It is on days like these that I feel most hungry). Only one full meal may be taken. Two smaller meals can be eaten to maintain strength but together they should not equal another full meal. Snacking between meals is not permitted. Catholics ages 18 to 59 are obligated to fast. If you are older and no longer bound by this obligation, like I am, try to observe the fast anyway as a voluntary act of self-denial.
There are also eight days of abstinence from meat and poultry. Those who have reached the age of 14 and above are obliged to abstain on Ash Wednesday and on all the Fridays of Lent.
An added challenge this year is that Ash Wednesday is also the observance of St. Valentine’s Day. It is obvious that as Catholics we must observe most strictly the first day of Lent while perhaps accommodating the commendable Valentine tenderness. Encourage your friends to take unusual advantage of Mardi Gras and do the Valentine thing on “St. Valentine’s Eve” which, in any event, is a traditional party day.
Purification and penance are recommended to us by the Church, not to make us hurt, but to make us whole. Those areas of our spiritual life which have not reached maturity or which have fallen back into childishness are where Lenten practices are applied. These forty days have been set aside to help us draw closer to the Christian way of life.
May these days of prayer, fasting and almsgiving be transformative for us.