Witnessing by wearing ashes?

Some bishops are encouraging Catholics to “wear their ashes with confidence to witness to their faith.” One Catholic bishop states:

Please try not to rub off your ashes as soon as you leave church, but take the sign of the cross to all those that you meet – in your school, office, factory, wherever you may be.

Hmmm, what about the Gospel reading on Ash Wednesday?

Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father…

After all the creativity and confusion since the Second Vatican Council, some voices are now calling for clearer Catholic identity, clearer markers of our Catholic tradition. Roman collars, nuns’ habits, meatless Fridays, Latin – such as these are to strengthen the commitment of the faithful and the clarity of the Church’s witness.

I suppose any organization, Church included, needs certain social or anthropological mechanisms to sustain itself as an organization. Fine. But sometimes I fear that all this emphasis on “Catholic identity” is a large step away from the Gospel – settling for the security of organized religion rather than the challenge of Jesus Christ. Or to put it another way, being more interested in the Church than the Kingdom of God.

Fact is, I rather like, and believe in, habits and Latin chant and meatless Fridays and all sorts of Catholic and Christian markers. Today’s Gospel reminds me to keep questioning my motives and purifying my heart.

I’ll give the last word to Bishop Robert R. Morneau, from Liturgical Press’s Daily Reflections for Lent (even though he quotes a Jesuit source!):

What should our motivation be in giving alms, praying, and fasting? Is it that we receive public recognition or even eternal life? It would seem not. We do these righteous deeds because they have intrinsic value. In and of themselves, they promote life and are building blocks for the kingdom of God…

St. Ignatious of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, gave his community a powerful motto: Ad majorem Dei gloriam (“For the greater glory of God”). Here is the proper motivation for the Christian life.”

Anthony Ruff, OSB

Fr. Anthony Ruff, OSB, is a monk of St. John's Abbey. He teaches liturgy, liturgical music, and Gregorian chant at St. John's University School of Theology-Seminary. He is widely published and frequently presents across the country on liturgy and music. He is the author of Sacred Music and Liturgical Reform: Treasures and Transformations, and of Responsorial Psalms for Weekday Mass: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter. He does priestly ministry at the neighboring community of Benedictine sisters in St. Joseph.

Please leave a reply.

Comments

48 responses to “Witnessing by wearing ashes?”

  1. Scott Knitter

    Seems clear that ashes are not meant to be worn as a sign of piety. There are better ways to witness than ignore what our liturgy tells us.

    Reply
    1. Ray Marshall

      The Protestants have 55,000 denominations and counting as many of them grab a few verses of the Bible to live their lives by. All of the Bible is the Word of God.

      A cross on my forehead once a year isn’t much of a vanity to worry about I would say.

      Reply
  2. Donna Eschenauer

    It may be that the power of the ritual of Ash Wednesday is in the words “turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.” This became evident to me a few years ago when I was distributing ashes. As I signed people and said the ritual words, to young and old, it hit me; this is about a way of being in the world! This day calls us to enter a time of reflection on our sinfulness – in other words, we need to look at how we fail to live the Gospel in the world.

    Reply
  3. Vic Romero

    As in many things human, the right thing to do is hard. The easy things are trivial.

    It’s easy to wear ashes on the forehead. It’s harder to “love your neighbor as yoursel” or at least be kind to them.

    Saying ten Hail Marys is easy. Actually meditating on the decade’s mystery is hard.

    Not eating meat on Fridays in Lent is easy. Not thinking or speaking ill of a cardinal who spends $30,000 on attire is hard.

    Not going to church on Sundays–because of a lot of bad things–is easy. It’s harder to keep going anyway–in spite of a lot of bad things–because you know that’s the only place you can find Jesus in the Eucharist.

    Reply
    1. Jeffrey Pinyan

      As in many things human, the right thing to do is hard. The easy things are trivial.

      But some of the easy things should still be done, in addition to the hard, right? (Such as, from your list, wearing ashes [you didn’t say how long], praying the Hail Marys, and not eating meat on Fridays.)

      Reply
  4. Winifred Holloway

    I am all for wearing the ashes, not as a marker of my Catholic identity, but as sign of our humilty in the face of our sinfulness, or shortcomings. And the words when the ashes are being applied to the forehead -“you are dust and to dust you shall return” – an obvious truth. Not depressing, but a real truth, invigorating and freeing. Ideally, the multitudes of people wearing ashes today would be a reminder to everyone of our common humanity and fragility. Perhaps we would all be gentler with each other.

    Reply
  5. Fritz Bauerschmidt

    My general rule of thumb:

    If you like the idea of wearing your ashes all day long as a witness to your Catholic faith, you should wipe them off.

    If you feel embarrassed by your ashes, you should leave them on.

    Reply
    1. Mr. Crouchback

      Bingo.

      Reply
    2. Cody C. Unterseher

      That’s what I tell my parishioners at the end of the Ash Wednesday liturgy: do the opposite of your gut impulse.

      (I first got that from a Lutheran pastor, BTW.)

      Reply
    3. Gerard Flynn

      The old agere contra approach. You’d make a great pre-Vatican II Jesuit.

      Reply
  6. Fr. Allan J. McDonald

    If there is a disconnect between a strong Catholic identity and following Christ, thus being a Christian, my Lord and my God have mercy on us and on the whole world! Our sacramental life with both a big S and little s is meant to be an outward sign of an inner “hidden” identity, Real Presence if you please. Anything that can shore up Catholic community and identity is a welcome witness, visible and public, in this day and age.

    Reply
    1. Fritz Bauerschmidt

      Not giving up stalking on the internet for Lent, Chris?

      Reply
  7. George Lynch

    From today’s Gospel by Matthew:
    ‘But when you fast,
    anoint your head and wash your face,
    so that you may not appear to be fasting,’

    why add or subtract from it?

    Reply
  8. Jeffrey Pinyan

    There’s a tension between Matthew 5:16 and Matthew 6:1.

    I like Deacon Fritz’s rule.

    Reply
  9. Gerard Flynn

    Wearing ashes is not necessarily an indication that one is fasting. The biblical tradition connects ashes with repentance – a word whose contemporary resonances have moved away from its Semitic context. Nothing to do with beating oneself up. In Hebrew one repents with one’s feet. It’s an awareness that one is not going in the direction that one really, wants to go in, and a decision to change direction. I’m for wearing ashes for this reason.

    Reply
  10. Jan Larson

    Jesus says to wash our faces when we fast, and not wear religious symbols in order to be noticed. Now let’s rationalize our way out of it (Jesus didn’t really intend to be taken literally; Jesus’s words must be mitigated by the culture in which he lived; for the symbol of ashes to “work” the ashes must be seen all day; we need any badge of Catholic identity we can get our hands on, embarrassement on Ash Wednesday is a good thing). I say skip the sporting of Ashes and take a shift in a soup kitchen.

    Reply
  11. Tom Poelker

    Jeffrey Pinyan :

    There’s a tension between Matthew 5:16 and Matthew 6:1.
    I like Deacon Fritz’s rule.

    I do not see the tension. One talks about being demonstrative in pious practices, the other talks about being clearly seen to treat people well.

    Reply
    1. Jeffrey Pinyan

      “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

      Jesus calls His disciples to let their light shine so that others can see their good works.

      “Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them…”

      Jesus calls His disciples to keep from performing acts of piety (“righteous deeds” in the NAB) in order to be seen by other people.

      Jesus wants our good deeds to be seen by others, but He does not want us to do them for the purpose of being seen, but for the glorification of our Father.

      Reply
  12. Jeff Rice

    The Gospel today seems to focus criticism on those who are trying to bring attention to their own holiness, quite the opposite from taking the sign of the cross to those we meet, as the bishop has recommended. Not many an Ash Wednesday goes by when I don’t encounter someone who points out I have a smudge on my forehead, which at the very least requires explanation and often results in an extended conversation with a complete stranger.

    Reply
  13. Tom Poelker

    Could ashes be one of those things which need to be considered one way when when one lives in an entire culture of Christendom, where the vast majority of one’s neighbors are part of the same civil and religious community, and needs to be considered in another way when one lives in a multi-cultural or pluralistic community?

    Is the observance different if one lives in a Medieval town where all might be expected to observe the same feasts and fasts and understand the meaning of what the day and the sacramental is about?

    I think this is more precisely a question of enculturation than is the style of the music used in the liturgy.

    We do not, for good or ill, live in late Medieval Europe. Externals which once made good sense do not necessarily transfer well to now or elsewhere. I am willing to examine the origins of practices and think it honest to ask whether they have the same value here and now as they once did.

    I want to maintain RC doctrine, but I think it desirable to encourage whatever visible unity is possible among Christians. I feel no need to appear to be distinctly Catholic and not be confused with Protestants. I think whatever makes it easier for us to work together spreading Christianity is a good thing. Showing pointed differences seems counter productive.

    I was raised in a rather closed RC culture. That no longer exists. I do not think it possible or worth the effort to restore it. I need to know how to be a Catholic Christian while living in a capitalist, pluralist, literate, digital world.

    I would like to know more about the motivations behind those who want to have more visibly and distinctly Roman Catholic things in 2011 USA.

    Reply
    1. Jay Taylor

      “I think whatever makes it easier for us to work together spreading Christianity is a good thing. Showing pointed differences seems counter productive.”

      Amen!

      Reply
      1. Jeffrey Pinyan

        Catholics aren’t the only ones who celebrate Ash Wednesday.

    2. Jeffrey Pinyan

      I would like to know more about the motivations behind those who want to have more visibly and distinctly Roman Catholic things in 2011 USA.

      My motivation is that I want to preach the Gospel in whatever way I can. I say a quiet blessing over my lunch at the office. I make the Sign of the Cross when I attend a multi-denominational Bible study. I have, from time to time, read the Bible or some other spiritual book in public (e.g. on a train). I have Catholic bumper stickers on my car.

      I don’t want to be ashamed of or embarrassed by my Catholic faith, despite the sins and faults of those who share that faith (myself included!).

      I want others to seek the truth of Christ found in the Catholic Church.

      I have no hidden agenda or ulterior motive.

      Reply
  14. Lizzie lopez

    Why bother getting the ashes, then, if one is not to take them out into the public square-just skip it. I do know that when I expose my ashes publicly – I am more careful of what I say and do lest I bring shame on the body of Christ.

    Reply
    1. Cody C. Unterseher

      I have no problem with the public-witness aspect of wearing the ashes throughout the day, and I think the heightened awareness of what one says and does while wearing them is a very good thing.

      But if the liturgy is to be our cue here, the ashes are not a public sign of ecclesial identity; rather, they are a personal reminder of our mortality (“Remember that you are dust”) and from within that a call to repentance (“Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel”.)

      Why bother beginning Lent this way? Because we need that reminder for ourselves.

      Reply
      1. Frank Agnoli

        Perhaps, with this in mind, we should adopt the practice of having the ashes sprinkled on the top of our heads (where we feel it but no one else sees it) instead of having it smudged on our foreheads… as demonstrated by the Pope….

  15. Tom Poelker

    Very few people live in housing with a chapel or on a Catholic campus. For others, getting to morning or even mid-day services is problematic. In most 2011 USA parishes, it is more likely that there will be a large congregation at a weekday evening service than at any other time of day.

    This actually works out fairly well for the wearing of ashes. Of course, one should not wipe them off on the way to the parking lot [A very much post-Tridentine addition to church architecture. Should final processions/recessionals end there as they did in the Medieval parvis?].

    If one is just going to dinner or home after the service with members of one’s community and family, there is no need to worry about what others will think. One is still inside the community.

    The point of the devotion is to face and accept the temporariness of the body and the need for repentance. It is most important how one receives and understands the ashes. This is a public devotion, part of the official, public worship of the church called liturgy. The giving and reception of ashes is a manner of participation. Who is seen to where ashes and by whom is irrelevant to the participation in the liturgy.

    I am only undecided about wiping away ashes before going to bed. I feel bad about wiping them off at all, no matter what time of day I receive them, but do I want to change the pillow case tomorrow because I got them at night?

    Reply
  16. Bill Logan

    On a related note, how did the American Catholic practice come to be marking the forehead with ashes when the European Catholic practice seems to be sprinkling ashes on the top of the head? And since we seem to be striving for greater uniformity, do you think the American practice will be changing to imitate the Roman?

    Reply
    1. Gerard Flynn

      The US practice is the same as the Irish practice. Maybe the Irish Catholics helped import it to the US.

      Reply
  17. Tom Poelker

    Only comments with a full name will be approved.

    Jeffrey Pinyan :

    Catholics aren’t the only ones who celebrate Ash Wednesday.

    irrelevant
    Just being onery?

    Reply
    1. Jeffrey Pinyan

      I do not think my comment was irrelevant, and I am not just being ornery. It’s a bit irritating to be brushed aside with such comments. Good for my humility, I suppose. A verbal hairshirt.

      The reason I said what I did is because you had said (and someone had quoted and agreed with) “I think whatever makes it easier for us to work together spreading Christianity is a good thing. Showing pointed differences seems counter productive.” I figured, given the context of this thread, that having ashes on our foreheads (for longer than it takes to get from the church parking lot to the nearest sink) is a “pointed difference” between Catholics and other Christians. I don’t think it is, since other Christians celebrate Ash Wednesday (like the Lutherans at the church five doors down from my house), which I have to believe contains the imposition of ashes!

      Reply
      1. Jeffrey Pinyan

        Correction:

        I figured, given the context of this thread, that you consider having ashes on our foreheads (for longer than it takes to get from the church parking lot to the nearest sink) is a “pointed difference” between Catholics and other Christians.

  18. Tom Poelker

    Only comments with a full name will be approved.

    Jeffrey Pinyan :

    I would like to know more about the motivations behind those who want to have more visibly and distinctly Roman Catholic things in 2011 USA.
    My motivation is that I want to preach the Gospel in whatever way I can. I say a quiet blessing over my lunch at the office. I make the Sign of the Cross when I attend a multi-denominational Bible study. I have, from time to time, read the Bible or some other spiritual book in public (e.g. on a train). I have Catholic bumper stickers on my car.
    I don’t want to be ashamed of or embarrassed by my Catholic faith, despite the sins and faults of those who share that faith (myself included!).
    I want others to seek the truth of Christ found in the Catholic Church.
    I have no hidden agenda or ulterior motive.

    non-responsive
    the commenter will please answer the question asked not some other question

    Reply
    1. Jeffrey Pinyan

      “The commenter” has a name, Tom. And I’m still not being ornery.

      Could you tell me how I mis-understood your question? (Or what question it is I answered instead?)

      Reply
  19. Vic Romero

    Jeffrey Pinyan :

    Chris, your posts laced with name-based insults (e.g. Alice McDonut) don’t last long. I ask you to consider changing your tone or your tactics. These things make PrayTell unpleasant to read.

    I stayed away for a while to avoid running into Chris Grady’s sarcastic-in-bad-taste comments. He’s obviously unrepentant and incorrigible. Worse, he delights in being a nuisance. His comments neither inform nor inspire nor encourage. He knows he needs to stop but will not. He’s even happier now that he’s merited two unflattering comments devoted exclusively to his bratty behavior. Now he feels even more encouraged to do more of the same.

    Reply
    1. Sebastian Pollock

      Whereas your self-righteous tone is presumably OK? Posts that do nothing but comment on the behavior of others are almost as unpleasant as the posts they criticize. They certainly add nothing to the debate.

      Reply
  20. Jan Larson

    It is interesting that neither the current Sacramentary or the forthcoming new Missal mention neither marking the forehead with ashes nor marking with a sign of the cross.

    Reply
    1. Donna Eschenauer

      Yes, the Sacramentary refers to the giving of ashes and placing ashes on those who come forward. Many resources on early practice refer to penitents being sprinkled with ashes. Does anyone know how and when signing the forehead came into practice?

      Reply
  21. Patricia Nolls

    Pardon me if this is not directly related, but I was struck by this:

    http://www.episcopalcafe.com/daily/church_year/ash_wednesday_in_the_streets_1.php

    Some worry about whether to show their ashes; others are delighted at the chance to receive them; and there’s surely some overlap between the two.

    Reply
  22. Tom Poelker

    Only comments with a full name will be approved.

    Jeffrey Pinyan :

    “The commenter” has a name, Tom. And I’m still not being ornery.
    Could you tell me how I mis-understood your question? (Or what question it is I answered instead?)

    I asked for reasons to want to be visibly and distinctly Roman Catholic. That you did not address.

    What’s in a name?

    Can you not recognize a reference to court procedure when you see one/ No harm intended.

    Reply
    1. Jeffrey Pinyan

      Sorry, Tom, if I misconstrued your “commenter” remark. From the bits of court (and House and Senate) proceedings I’ve seen, the procedure is sometimes employed in a sarcastic or disrespectful manner. That is how I perceived your remark.

      Why do I want to be “visibly and distinctly Roman Catholic”?

      Because I believe our Roman heritage is something to be “proud” of (in all humility, of course). I’m not ashamed of it, and it’s part of my identity. I have nothing against other Catholics, of course. (I really do love a Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom every now and again!)

      Actually, it’s because Rome’s got the Pope, so we’re clearly the bestest, and I want to be on the winning team. 😉

      Reply
  23. Fr. Allan J. McDonald

    Pictures of the pope receiving ashes yesterday showed him being sprinkled with them on the top of his head. There was nothing visible. I presume this is the custom in Italy and other parts of Europe? The sign value in this case is for the one receiving them, to repent of sin and believe the good news.
    However, I was struck too by our own Mass schedule yesterday. It started at 6:30 AM (poor souls had to wear them all day) and concluded at 7:00 PM last night, when those who received ashes went home and then promptly to bed, or at least watched TV to midnight when they could pig out because it was Thursday.

    Reply
  24. Joel Walkley

    We had a service at noon so I wore the ashes for most of the day, including to firefighter class where I was, strangely enough for a firefighter class ; ), the only one with ashes on my head. It is common knowledge in that class that I pastor a local church and matters of faith do come up in conversation, but this day also presented opportunities to tell about particular faith practices which several folks were quite interested in. Most in that class were from non-liturgical traditions, of nominal Christian faith, or would self identify as “no religion.”

    Reply
  25. Brigid Rauch

    Last year people were puzzled by the smudge on Joe Biden’s head. Last night, Steven Colbert wore the ashes on his program.

    I would suggest that these ashes were a form of evangelization, a public statement that these are men of faith who hold their faith valuable.

    I recall being at college on Ash Wednesday and being asked by a puzzled foreign student why so many people had a dirty face that day. He was startled to realize that there were that many Americans who were people of faith, since he saw us as a secular society.

    Reply
  26. Jan Larson

    Addendum: There is a very old custom that clerics receive the ashes on their tonsure, the top of their head that is shaved when they received the minor order of tonsure. Tonsures are no longer maintained by most clerics, so perhaps this is one reason the pope and others have ashes sprinkled on their heads, rather than the familiar forehead smudge.

    Reply
    1. Samuel J. Howard

      Tonsure was not and is not a minor order (porter, exorcist, lector, acolyte), but (for seculars) the rite accompanying inscription among the clergy.

      Reply
  27. Jan Larson

    Thanks, Samuel, for the correction. I should have known better, since I am one of the dwindling number who received tonsure and the minor orders a hundred years ago…

    Reply
  28. kaythe gardener

    If ashes are a sign of true Christian repentance and humility, then when Catholic Bishops apologize to CSA victims, they should be wearing ashes as well, not just washing feet!!

    Reply

Posted

in

,

by

Anthony Ruff, OSB

Tags:

,

Discover more from Home

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading