Swords, Roses, and Feminism!

soldierofthelord:

     Lent begins with ashes - a traditional sign of mourning, grieving, and repentance for both Jews and Christians (Is. 58:5; Mt. 11:21).

     Through the early centuries of Christian history, those who committed serious sins had to do public penance, sometimes for years. Penitents were organized into an “Order of Penitents”; the process was ritualized and culminated on Holy Thursday, when the penitents were readmitted to the Eucharist.

     One of the signs of a penitent was ashes or dirt on the person’s head, often at the beginning of the penance. By the early Middle Ages, the practice became a more general Lenten tradition for all Christians, focused on the beginning of Lent. It became a way for Christians to publicly mark their sorrow for sin and to symbolically ready themselves to cast that sin away and open themselves to God during the weeks to come.

     As we receive ashes on our heads, usually traced in the Sign of the Cross, we’re reminded of who we are; creatures in need of God’s love and forgiveness. The readings for Ash Wednesday offer us good guidance, not only for this day, but for the journey we are taking throughout the next few weeks.

• Joel calls us to return to the Lord through our prayers and fasting.
• Paul appeals to us not to “receive the grace of the Lord in vain” (2 Cor. 5:20-6:2).
• Jesus reminds us to pray, fast, and give alms with an eye to please only God, not to impress other people (Mt. 6:1-6; 16-18).