The Signifigence of Ash Wednesday
Here's a pitch for Ash Wednesday, and it comes to us via Ken Sehested at Prayers and Politics. Ash Wednesday is the only holiday in North America that has not been co opted by commercialism. That in and of itself, is a reason to mark it in the Christian church - a faith that emerged from its counter cultural stance.
“Your ashen smear beckons you to get woke! Awake, awake from hazy indifference or anxious fray. Persevering hope comes not by averting eyes from scorched streets and choked streams. Death defying hope is forged from the ashes for those washed in the penitential wake.
Behold the beauty still lacing the earth. Pry yourself, piece by pound, from the Deceiver’s web, and lend your weft to the Beloved’s warp in reweaving the fabric of God’s Commonwealth.”
Ash Wednesday has traditionally been an important gathering in the Catholic church, and less so in the Protestant tradition. But we can learn from others, and concerning Ash Wednesday, we can learn much from this thoughtful beginning to the Lenten season. Ash Wednesday, marking as it does the season of repentance and contemplation, is an important marker in our life of faith. Here below are two videos made by the Catholic church that may help clarify the importance of the day.