"For dust you are, and to dust you shall return." - Genesis 3:19
SCHERERVILLE – Thousands of Catholics will visit churches in the Diocese of Gary on Wednesday, March 5, to begin the season of Lent by receiving the mark of ashes on their forehead, but when did this practice begin and why is it so prevalent? After all, Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation, even though it draws more faithful than Sunday Mass in many parishes.
Father Martin Dobrzynski is happy to see St. Michael the Archangel Church, where he serves as pastor, full for Ash Wednesday Mass each year, but a bit curious, too.
“I see almost all of my people, the 1,100 to 1,200 (who regularly worship), but there are also many that I won’t see for another year,” he said as Lent approaches. “It’s good that they take the time out of their day to do something for Lent, but it saddens me, too, because the people who don’t come (to Mass) regularly, come on Ash Wednesday for all the wrong reasons. I guess the ashes (can) make you feel like you are part of the group.”
“It’s popular to receive ashes – they get something – but do they know why it is important to worship on Ash Wednesday?” asked Father Dobrzynski. “It’s a great day if you are regularly practicing your faith. If you are doing that, you would have heard from me two weeks before Lent that you should start thinking about what you are going to do in the way of prayer, fasting and almsgiving for Lent.
“(For those people, Ash Wednesday) is a day to get closer to God. It is the beginning of a very particular time … a time to think about living more simply and prayerfully.”
Father Jerry Schweitzer, a senior priest in the Diocese of Gary who frequently lectures on scripture, agreed that Ash Wednesday offers “an opportunity for reflecting on the prayer, fasting and almsgiving” that is part of Lent “and could be something we decide to do continuously” throughout the year.
“As we grow older, with more experience … we could become much more understanding of the meaning of Ash Wednesday – the return to dust,” noted Father Schweitzer. “But is there a commitment to life experience and a reminder of the brevity of life?”
It may feel good, in the moment, to receive ashes, “but there may be a lack of reality of what it really means,” said Father Schweitzer, “(Which is) not the external sign, but the internal commitment to prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
“Do we, on Ash Wednesday, ponder, meditate and reflect upon ‘Where am I?’ in my faith, as opposed to reverting to that grade school understanding of the ashes on our forehead,” said Father Schweitzer.
Surprisingly, the start of Ash Wednesday, as well as Lent itself, is somewhat vague.
“Lent, as we understand it, did not exist in the early Church, but likely was established sometime between 400 and 500, and was seen as a time of preparation for catechumens who were to receive the sacraments at Easter,” said Father Dobrzynski. “Then it began to become something the whole community observed in solidarity (with the catechumens), and there is some record of Lent being longer than six weeks, shorter … and finally becoming identified with the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert.
“Ash Wednesday was a much later development, possibly in the 1300s or 1400s, and developed over time, with ashes coming as a penitential gesture much later, and traditionally in the U.S. In Europe, Catholics have ashes sprinkled on their heads, as we did during the COVID year,” he added.
“Participating in Ash Wednesday worship shows my faith to the world,” said Penelope Stamper, a parishioner at St. Matthias in Crown Point. “That’s the least I can do. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for my life, and the least I can do is give back. I also do a Lenten reflection each year and chapel readings; I learn something new every season, allowing me to grow in my faith.”
Melinda Quasney, also a St. Matthias parishioner, attends Ash Wednesday services each year “to remind me that ‘from ashes to ashes, and dust to dust … that my body won’t always be here, but my soul will go to heaven. It’s the start of Lent, and I attended Holy Trinity School and Bishop Noll, so I have to be there for Ash Wednesday.”
As an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion who has distributed ashes, St. Matthias parishioner Melissa Devon admits she gets a bit nervous but considers it an honor. “It means a lot to people to receive ashes; it is an outward symbol of what God has given to them.”
Paura Burrell, a parishioner who has led Lenten programs at St. Matthias, sees Ash Wednesday worship as “a ‘thank you’ to God for the sacrifice of His son as we live out this life He has given us.
“(Attending Ash Wednesday worship) is a hopeful sign that we haven’t given up. People want to cling to old traditions,” Burrell said. “It shows that the little candle given to them at baptism is ready to explode on Ash Wednesday and fill the church.
“We have 40 days (before Easter) to make a change in our lives and become closer to God. Without Lent, many of us would not come to that ‘happy death.’”
Caption: Deacon Bob Bucheit places ashes on the forehead of Lucille Gardner during on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14 at Settlers Place in LaPorte. (Bob Wellinski photo)
