Pathway into Lent

Pathway into Lent

So here we are.  It is Ash Wednesday.  The following tidbits about the origin of Ash Wednesday were gathered on the internet.  Ash Wednesday gets its name from early traditions in the Christian Church in Rome, when penitents and sinners would partake in a period of public penance. They were sprinkled with ashes and dressed in a sackcloth until they were reconciled with the community on Maundy Thursday, which is the Thursday before Easter.  Ash Wednesday comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting. The practice includes the wearing of ashes on the head.  Thus, the liturgical use of ashes originated in the Old Testament times.

In a matter of days, I will be 79 years old.  Do not know when that happened, it came upon me with great speed, the rapidity of which would delight a child waiting for Christmas.  Things have changed since I was a child in parochial school, making my list of what I would give up for Lent.  On Ash Wednesday, we would all arrive in the morning with clean faces.  After morning mass every forehead bore a black ash cross, which was somehow smeared throughout the day.  By the time we were picked up from school it was a thin dark line above our eyebrows.  Some of the boldest, mostly eighth graders, actually wiped the ashes from their heads.  We were in awe of their brazen move.  The importance of the ancient practice was mostly lost on unsuspecting youngsters, hanging from the monkey bars, and flying high into the air on squeaky swings, on the playground at recess.  For a child Lent was not a favorite season at all.  Its redeeming quality rested in knowing that it would end with Easter, bunnies, candy, egg hunts, and springtime.  For an adult it is the glory of the journey, culminating in resurrection, not only the celebration of The Resurrection of Jesus, but the resurrection of ourselves after weeks of solemn searching for the truth, within.  I look forward to that again this season of Lent, and hope you do, too.  In a matter of weeks, we will all find something new, along the Pathway into Lent, which has been with us all the time, hidden from view, deep inside of me, and each of you.  Thank you for taking the journey through Lent with me.

          The reading I have chosen today is from Matthew 6:17-18

The Reading

February 14, 2024

“ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”  Matthew 6:17-18