Lent...and Renewal

As I was brought up in a Catholic household, and educated in a Catholic school, it only seems appropriate that I would share my thoughts on the traditions of Lent. Traditions mean different things to different people, as they should. It is through our own personal understanding of the “mysteries”, that we are able to make sense of the world around us. I have never been, nor will I be a fanatic, fundamentalist, dogmatic Christian. For that reason, I call myself a Pagan. It is my belief that our understanding of the world is proportionally related to our experiences in this life. Those experiences mold my understanding of the Creative Life Force, or that which most Christians call God or even Jesus. It is through the lessons of Jesus, Buddha, Mohammad or Mother Earth that we grow in our Enlightment.

The historical references of this essay were taken from an article published by the Catholic Church and with all due respect, I do make references to the quotes in that piece, not as an article of faith, but to guide my readers on my understanding of what this tradition means to me.

Most individuals in America are familiar with the festivities of Mardi – Gras or Fat Tuesday. Consequently, they also know that the following day is Ash Wednesday, a time for most Christians to gather at churches to receive a cross of ashes in their forehead by a priest.  The first question, should be, then, why the use of Ashes? The origin of the custom of using ashes in religious ritual is lost in the mists of pre-history, but we find references to the practice in the Old Testament. The prophet Jeremiah, for example, calls for repentance this way: "O daughter of my people, gird on sackcloth, roll in the ashes" (Jer 6:26)

The prophet Isaiah, on the other hand, critiques the use of sackcloth and ashes as inadequate to please God, but in the process he indicates that this practice was well-known in Israel: "Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance: that a man bow his head like a reed, and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?" (Is 58:5).

The prophet Daniel pleaded for God to rescue Israel with sackcloth and ashes as a sign of Israel's repentance: "I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes" (Dn 9:3).

Perhaps the best known example of repentance in the Old Testament also involves sackcloth and ashes. When the prophet Jonah finally obeyed God's command and preached in Nineveh. The word of his message was carried to the king. "When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes" (Jon 3:6).

In the book of Judith, we find acts of repentance that specify that the ashes were put on people's heads: "And 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" (Jdt 4:11; see also 4:15 and 9:1).

Just prior to the New Testament period, the rebels fighting for Jewish independence, the Maccabees, prepared for battle using ashes: "That day they fasted and wore sackcloth; they sprinkled ashes on their heads and tore their clothes" (1 Mc 3:47; see also 4:39).

In the New Testament, Jesus refers to the use of sackcloth and ashes as signs of repentance: "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 long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes" (Mt 11:21, Lk 10:13).”

In the early church, those who had committed serious sins confessed them to the bishop and were assigned a penance that was to be carried out over a period of time. After completing their penance, they were reconciled by the bishop with a prayer of absolution offered in the midst of the community. These individuals were initially marked with ashes in their foreheads.

During the time they worked out their penances, the “penitents” often had special places in church and wore special garments to indicate their status. Like those who were preparing for Baptism, they were often dismissed from Sunday services after the Liturgy of the Word, what we commonly know as the reading of the Gospel.

This whole process was modeled on the conversion journey of those about to be baptized, because the Church saw falling into serious sin after Baptism as an indication that a person had not really been converted. Penance was a second attempt to foster that conversion. Early Church fathers even called Penance a "second Baptism."

Lent developed in the Church as the whole community prayed and fasted for the catechumens, those being prepared for Baptism. At the same time, those members of the community who were already baptized prepared to renew their baptismal promises at Easter, thus joining the catechumens in seeking to deepen their own conversion. It was natural, then, that the Order of Penitents also focused on Lent, with reconciliation often being celebrated on Holy Thursday so that the newly reconciled could share in the liturgies of the Resurrection.

By the Middle Ages, the emphasis was no longer baptismal. Instead, the main emphasis shifted to the passion and death of the Christ. Lent came to be seen as a time to acknowledge guilt for the sins that led to Christ's passion and death. Repentance was then seen as a way to avoid punishment for sin more than as a way to renew our baptismal commitment.

Later on, the focus on personal penance and the Sacrament of Penance continued in Lent, but the connection to Baptism was no longer obvious to most people. This is reflected in the formula that came to be associated with the distribution of ashes: "Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return." This text focuses on our mortality, as an incentive to take seriously the call to repentance, but there is little hint here of any baptismal meaning. This emphasis on mortality fit well with the medieval experience of life, when the threat of death was always at hand. Many people died very young, and the societal devastation of the plague made death even more prevalent.

When a Christian receives ashes on his/her forehead, s/he is to remember who s/he is: a creature of the earth ("Remember that you are dust"), a mortal being ("and to dust you will return”), a person on a journey of conversion ("Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel"). It is a statement of renewal.

Through the dark months of winter, natures withdraws into itself and we humans should do the same.  Our purpose should be to review and reorganize the potential of our lives.  Metaphysically speaking, one should have a plan of action for the days when the light returns and we can see clearly who we truly are. This should be a time for us to rest and regain our strength. We must open our hearts and ears to the world. This “conversion” should take place within ourselves...in search of enlightment and wisdom. Gone (or they should be gone) are the days when the established church dictates that we must repent, but I dare say that we must reflect and meditate on the selfish, inappropriate actions we have engaged in...and set goals...and move forth in the world, with a clear and renewed sense of self.  Life renews itself at Springtime. So should we.  We must rise from the ahes of our past endeavors and begin life anew.  As the symbol above, this is a process that continues for the rest of our lives:  it has no beginning and no end, for knowledge and wisdom are infinite and one should never stop learning.  To refuse such process, is to die.

I may not feel the need to go to a church and have ashes placed on my forehead to be reminded of what I must do and who I am. Although I may not do so, I honor my heritage and the traditions of the church I was once such an integral part of. We humans forget often the importance of ritual. It is through ritual that we discover who we really are.  You may be like me and not feel the need to display what you are about to do, but you must always find a way to renew yourself, for this is a proclamation of faith in itself. Faith in yourself.  Rest assured…