Watch Out for Those Ash Wednesday Newspapers!
Paul at Thoughts of a Regular Guy has posted an account of a true-life humorous Ash Wednesday episode from his past.
Well, here's my funny Ash Wednesday story (originally posted in an abridged form in the comments at Paul's blog):
Back when I was in law school, I had an evangelical friend named Mitch. I was also an evangelical back then, and neither of us had much exposure to Catholic culture (apart from our 2 Catholic room-mates), having both been raised in thoroughly Protestant enclaves of the Bible-Belt South. However, I was ahead of Mitch because my father's Yankee relatives were all Catholic, so I wasn't completely in the dark about things.We laughed then, and I laugh now every time I think of that story. Little did I know at the time, that one day I would be walking around with newsprint smudged on my forehead.
Mitch, on the other hand, was absolutely clueless. His naivete was on full display during our first year of law school when the season of Lent caught him completely unaware. On Ash Wednesday, I was sitting with our Catholic roommates in the student lounge reading the school newspaper when Mitch, with a look of utmost concern on his face, came up to us and told us there was something wrong with that day's newspaper. According to Mitch, everyone had "newsprint smudged all over their faces".
Which brings me to the next topic of this post, with a hat tip to Julie D. at Happy Catholic, who notes in the Mardi Gras edition of the Catholic Carnival that Upper Canada Catholic has a question about the appropriate thing to do with the ashes on your forehead once you've left Mass on Ash Wednesday:
Ashes on or off? That is, after leaving the Mass, should one wipe the ashes off the forehead or leave them on until they wear off naturally? I ask, because I am definitely in the “wipe them off” school, but would welcome the opinion and instruction of others.To which I responded in comments at Happy Catholic:
For me, leaving them on would lead to the sin of pride: “Hey everyone, look at me – I have ashes on my forehead! Aren’t I pious? I am so much better than you because I go to church and fast and stuff.”
"Wash 'em off? Are you kidding? All those years as a Protestant I was jealous about all the cool "stuff" that Catholics got in conjunction with their faith. I'm not about to lose out on it now that I'm in the fold."
posted by Pro Ecclesia 2:32 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Great post, Jay. I can relate to your roommate's ignorance regarding Ash Wednesday. I didn't have any idea (or interest in) what it was until I was going through RCIA. Growing up in Atlanta, I saw it on the calendar every year and thought it was something like Arbor Day--only particular to Ash trees.
I also never, ever remember seeing anyone wearing ashes--until I became a Catholic. I share your reluctance to wash off something so wonderful. I sometimes feel sorry for those Christians who don't share our rich liturgical life and calendar. No feast days, no Lent, no solemnities, few sacraments, a truncated Advent--no wonder their church doors only open twice a week! :)
To close, last Ash Wednesday I actually had a Canadian co-worker stop me in the hall to tell me that I had some dry ink toner spilled on my forehead. A Canadian! How could a Canadian go his whole life without seeing someone wearing ashes?
Have a blessed day, brother Jay!
Thanks Zach. Same to you, my friend.
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