FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B
Last Wednesday we received something that is a symbol of our sinfulness, ashes. And because we have become used to living day to day with the specter of a virus, we did not receive the usual smudge on the forehead, an imprint made by the thumb but instead it was a dusting atop the head. No longer can people see our dirty badge of what some of us may consider the mark of a good Catholic. We can no longer “proudly” display that mark of repentance. When I was a young boy, whenever Ash Wednesday came around, I would try to see if I could beat my record of the previous year as to how long I could maintain the mark on my forehead. I always slept on my back to prevent my face from touching the pillow because my ashes would rub off. I tried not to break a sweat so that my ashes would not look like mascara running down my forehead. I could normally go for about three days before the mark was barely perceptible and my Mother would force me to wash it off. Anyway, getting back to my point. Because we were dusted in our hair, (unless we are bald, and I am not making fun of bald people, I am getting there too,) our ashes are not visible but hidden from view. We cannot look in the mirror to see if it was a heavy application or just a light tracing of ashes. This change from visible to invisible ashes can be a major revelation for us. We now have the opportunity to reflect on the ashes themselves instead of the smudged cross on our head. We can think about why we take leaves from a living plant sprinkle them with Holy water then burn them for the use of the ashes they leave behind almost like being born, being baptized and then turning to dust ourselves. Instead of ashes being an outward sign we can now think about the inward meaning of repentance and a sign of sorrow. Ashes give us a fresh perspective of what this rite symbolizes and the personal implication of how we should respond to it. You see this interaction was always meant to be a personal, private, and not public covenant with God, a promise to return to him through repentance. Lent is our chance to spend 40 days reflecting on the invisible ashes we have covered ourselves with over the last year and decide how we will come to a conversion of heart.
