Posts Tagged Catholic

“A person is a person, no matter how small.”
~Dr. Seuss~

There is nothing in this world that can make me believe it is okay to kill a baby, even if said baby hasn’t been born yet.  I am a mother.  I know what it is like to FEEL LIFE move inside of me.  Men, I’m sorry that ya’ll miss out on that, but believe me, it’s very real.  Freedom of choice?  Sure.  Keep your pants on!!!  Rape?  Well, ask anyone who has tried for years without success to conceive a child.  They will tell you how difficult it can be, under perfect circumstances, for that tiny seed to take hold.  It is extremely rare for a rape to end in pregnancy.  If it does, then don’t punish the baby!!  There are thousands of couples who would love to adopt that innocent child!!

Notre Dame

All that to say:  I absolutely, rack my brain though I might, cannot figure out why Obama is so determined to kill off as many preborn babies as he possibly can.  Honestly, can’t he think of something better to do?  Aren’t the economy and his plans for world domination enough to keep him occupied for a while?  Never mind all the other issues.  He is so brazenly open about promoting abortion it’s actually shocking to me.  It boggles my mind that this man (and those who support him) are so eager to KILL.  And this is just the first step. . .  When human life ceases to have value, beware.  Your own life will be very expendable, too, just like those poor defenseless babies.

But, the fact remains that there will always be folks on opposite sides of the fence.  We will always find something to disagree on.  Yet someone, somewhere, has to take a stand for what is absolutely right.  And by the same token, they must take a stand against what is absolutely wrong.  And, yes, I firmly believe that right and wrong are absolutes.  Relativism is crap.

As Christians, we believe that abortion is absolutely wrong.  The Catholic Church has made it VERY CLEAR that as Catholic Christians, we DO NOT, IN ANY WAY, CONDONE ABORTION.  We uphold the sanctity of ALL LIFE, young, old, or preborn.  Nancy Pelosi went so far as to challenge the Pope on this subject, and tried to say that even Saint Augustine said abortion was okay. (I’m not going to state directly what I think about Nancy Pelosi.  Suffice it to say that I think she has the brains God gave an ice cube!!)  The Holy Father set her straight.  Well, he tried to.  He clearly stated that abortion is wrong, evil, and that the Church does not condone it.  Pelosi’s mind is so twisted that she didn’t seem to get the message that common lab rats all around the world understood.

So, this abortion thing and the Catholic Church have been in the news a LOT lately.  You would think, then, that Fr. Jenkins, President of Notre Dame University, would have noticed, and had the decency to invite someone who doesn’t passionately and aggressively oppose one of the most important social stands of the Catholic Church to speak at commencement.  But no.  He has chosen to commit Obamination.

There is an online petition to Fr. Jenkins to rescind his invitation to Obama to speak at commencement and “honor” him with an honorary law degree, and it is receiving over 270 signatures per hour. I’m thinking that’s a pretty clear sign that Americans, especially Catholics, are not okay with this.  Why in the world would Our Lady’s University give audience to such a man???  I don’t care if he is the first African-American president.  (And, PLEASE remember:  only HALF of him is African-American.  The other half of him is WHITE.)

Now, if Warren-Wilson College invited Obama to speak, nobody would care.  They are consistently voted the most liberal college in the nation.  Their “worldview” meshes perfectly with Obama’s.  If Berkley invited him, that would make perfect sense.  But NOT Notre Dame.  In fact, it is a direct act of disobedience to the mandate given by the USCCB in 2004 in:

“Catholics in Political Life”:  “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles.  They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

If you would like to sign the petition, please click on this link:  Petition to Fr. Jenkins at Notre Dame.  At least Bishop D’Arcy is choosing to boycott this event. Now if everyone else would!!!

Yes, in more ways than one, I am still here!  I still have a blog, even though I’ve not updated it in a couple of weeks.  Things have been really busy since we got back from Texas.  Alex started right back in with rehearsals for the play he is now performing in at the Flat Rock Playhouse, “Princess Reform School”.  He does a great job, even though he is only in one scene.  As the name implies, the play is mostly about princesses in need of reform, so there are only 4 males in the entire play.  They are sparse, indeed!  It is a cute play, though, with some very funny parts.  I will, however, be very grateful when it’s over next Sunday.  We can rest a bit then.

And, obviously, I am still here in North Carolina.  Our home still hasn’t sold, but that’s not a huge shock, considering most real estate is frozen here.  We have decided to drop our price, but I want to speak with our realtor first and determine if she is going to actually do some agressive marketing, or just update her website.  I would really, really, really love to be in Texas before school starts in the Fall.  It won’t affect Faith, because we will just continue homeschooling.  However, Alex wants to attend his senior year of high school at a public school, and it would be so much nicer if we were already there.  I’ve heard horror stories about putting homeschooled kids in high school.  I’ve heard that the school will require them to start at 9th grade, no matter what their level of education is, or how old they are.  If we run into something ridiculous like that, we will simply continue homeschooling.  End of story.

Gaylon is coming in for Easter, and will be here in time for all of the Holy Week Masses and services.  He will be here for four days, then back to Texas. *sigh*  I wish he could stay longer.  We knew this was going to be difficult, but knowing something and experiencing it are always very different.

Also, I am still here, even though I have seen the ark float by a few times in search of Mt. Ararat!  It has been grey and dreary and rainy for 4 days straight.  Yes, we need the rain.  Yes, it makes everything pretty and green.  And it grows the flowers.  I don’t know about the grass and flowers and trees, but personally, I am in desperate need of some sunlight!  So, I am looking forward to sunnier days, soon!

My only political thoughts at the moment are that I cannot believe that Fr. Jenkins up at Notre Dame is having Obama speak at their commencement exercises this year, and giving him an honorary law degree.  How can he justify honoring the most aggressive abortion rights activist ever at a CATHOLIC university???  At least his bishop is refusing to attend the ceremony.  Now if only everyone else would boycott, as well.

“Remember, man, you are dust
and to dust you will return.”
(Genesis 3:19)

It is difficult for many people to understand why Catholics wear ashes on their foreheads on Ash Wednesday.  After all, Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead.  In that one perfect sacrifice, all was fulfilled, and the only thing left is for us to accept the work that has already been completed in Jesus.

Exactly so!  Jesus’ death and resurrection took care of everything.  There is nothing we could have ever done, or ever can do, that would have atoned for our own sins, let alone the sins of the entire world.  And that is the point, actually.  We are nothing more than dust, and without God, we have no meaning, no purpose. It is only through Jesus that we can ever hope to become something more.

But it is so easy to forget what God did for us.  So easy to become self-reliant, self-sufficient.  We can easily begin to believe that we are ‘good enough’ and that we don’t really ‘need’ God.  We are lulled into believing that we’re special, of our own accord.  Unless of course we find ourselves in dire circumstances, in which even atheists start to call upon the name of the Lord!!

So, on Ash Wednesday, we wear ashes on our foreheads to remind ourselves of who and what we really are.  And, most of all, they remind us why we need the amazing God who was willing to sacrifice His only Son on a cross to lift us from the ashes of death to the glories of eternity.

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“The beginning of the Gospel stands for the whole; uttering it, one is as it were sending out the breath of the Holy Spirit to engage the four winds, pervading them and turning them to good. The world is thus declared to be the realm of God’s creative word; matter is subordinated to the power of his Spirit. For matter too is his creation and hence the sphere of his gracious power. Ultimately we receive the very bread of the earth from his hands. How beautifully the new eucharistic bread is thus related to our daily bread! The eucharistic bread imparts its blessing to the daily bread, and each loaf of the latter silently points to him who wished to be the bread of us all. So the liturgy opens out into everyday life, into our earthly life and cares; it goes beyond the church precincts because it actually embraces heaven and earth, present and future. How we need this sign! Liturgy is not the private hobby of a particular group; it is about the bond which holds heaven and earth together, it is about the human race and the entire created world. In the Corpus Christi procession, faith’s link with the earth, with the whole of reality, is represented “in bodily form,” by the act of walking, of treading the ground, our ground.” ~Pope Benedict XVI

(Above Quote From: The Feast of Faith, Approaches to a Theology of the Liturgy, pp. 134-135)

This took my breath away! How beautiful to think of the Liturgy in such terms. And the image of uttering the Gospel as sending out the breath of the Holy Spirit to engage the four winds…wow.

I really do like WordPress, and apparently, I’m not alone. The USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) has a blog covering Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic journey to the United States. How cool is that??

Lots of helpful info there, check it out: USCCB’s Papal Visit Blog

What can I give You?
You bought my life and soul
With your raw and tattered flesh
That dripped blood
Into my chalice
For my communion.
You paid in hideous gaping wounds
For my peace of mind.
With Your silent agonizing humiliation
You heaped my tiny troubles
Upon Your overburdened Cross;
You tread barefoot over sharp stones,
Through jagged sneers,
And under Eternity’s crushing weight
To purchase my redemption.
My debt is great,
And You deal not in currency,
But in Love.
So let me love others
As You love me.

Alex and I drove over to Charlotte this morning for the Chrism Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral officiated by Bishop Peter Jugis. Priests from all over the diocese were there, to renew their vocations, along with all of the Seminarians from the diocese as well. We got there around 9:15, and the Mass was at 10:00. The first miracle of the day is that I parallel-parked my car!! For those of you who know me well, you will instantly recognize that this was truly an act of God’s Divine Grace and Mercy! But I digress. . .

Alex had borrowed a cassock and surplice from our parish, because he had been told that if he vested up, he would be able to participate. He was warned that he would probably just process in and out, and sit there, but at least he would be ‘a part’. Well. . . . the Mass started, and there was this LONGGGGG procession of priests (I think 120 of them???) and some deacons and Bishop Emeritus William Curlin, and Abbot Placid Solari from Belmont Abbey, and finally Bishop Jugis. I was beginning to wonder if Alex had gotten to serve after all. Then I saw him, following the Bishop, with one other altar boy, and they had these white cloths draped over their shoulders and hands, so I knew they would be holding the Bishop’s Mitre (hat) and Crosier (staff). Sure enough, when the Bishop got up to the Altar, he handed his staff to Alex, and Alex got to sit up on the Altar for the entire Mass, holding the Bishop’s staff!!! I actually cried, I was so proud!! Oh, and to top things off perfectly, there were five of Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Charity at the Mass, too! They had on the white habits with the blue stripes and all!

The Mass was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I am sure that the choir sounded very much like the Angelic Choir in Heaven!! I got chills listening to them. It was the most ‘holy feeling’ Mass I’ve ever attended, and I just kept feeling so blessed and unworthy to be there! I loved the incense, and the smell of the oils. (The Chrism Mass is where the Bishop blesses the Chrism and Anointing oils for the Diocese for the upcoming Liturgical Year, then a priest or deacon from each parish takes them home to his church.)

Anyway, afterward, when I was walking out, I got to shake Bishop Jugis’ hand, and I introduced myself and told him that I was Alex’s mom, the one who was holding his staff. He said, “Oh, yes! He will be talking about that forever!” And I blurted out “So will I!” He smiled and told me that holding the Bishop’s staff was a very important office, and that Alex should be very proud and I thanked him for letting Alex be a part. Then we went to lunch with some friends from our parish. It was an incredible day!!!

For more information on Chrism and it’s uses/meanings, please visit NewAdvent.

Pysanky

I confess to having a very deep-seated disdain for easter egg hunts. When I was a child, my parents took me to an easter egg hunt at our local country club. My mother made a beautiful blue egg, just for me, complete with my name on it. I was so proud of this egg! When we got to the hunt, I was shocked and dismayed to discover that we were to surrender all of our eggs to the folks running the hunt, who would then take them and hide them for everyone to hunt for. I tried to explain that the blue egg with my name on it was not to be hidden, but it didn’t matter. It is a rare adult who will listen to a three year old child.

So, my prized egg was hidden, and another little girl found it, and no matter what I said or did, she would not relinquish my egg. I was absolutely devastated, and have hated easter egg hunts ever since. But never once did I wonder why, for the purpose of celebrating Jesus’ resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday, we colored eggs and then hid them! As an adult, I have wondered about this many times, and been asked about it, by non-Christians, as well.

I read a really sweet and simple explanation for this that I thought I would share. In fact, there are several curious Holy Week customs that I would like to share, that I found in this week’s online edition of Our Sunday Visitor:

Palm crosses: From medieval times, people have believed that blessed palms formed into the shape of a cross would protect them from danger. The easiest way to make a cross from blessed palms is to cut two pieces of the palm, arrange in the shape of a cross, put a thumbtack in the middle, and attach the cross to a doorway or a bulletin board. Check the Internet for directions on how to braid or weave palms into more decorative crosses.

Housecleaning: In many cultures the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week are designated as days for vigorous housecleaning in preparation for Easter. This custom probably evolved from the Jewish custom of ritual cleaning before Passover.

Coloring eggs: Decorating eggs was a pagan symbol of rebirth at springtime for the Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Persians and even the Chinese. Christians adopted the colored egg as a symbol of new life which comes with the Resurrection.

Easter lilies: The tradition of buying Easter lilies during Holy Week for use as decorations in homes and churches came into practice in the 1800s. The white flower is a symbol of purity and new life that heralds the resurrection of Jesus.

Visiting churches: The custom of visiting several churches to say a prayer on Holy Thursday was a tradition that evolved from the practice of making pilgrimages to holy places.

Sweet breads: In many cultures, Holy Week was traditionally a time for baking sweet breads, cakes and pastries that would be served on Easter Sunday.

Blessing of Easter baskets: In many cultures, families bring food that will be eaten on Easter Sunday to church in a basket for a special blessing on Holy Saturday.

New clothes: From the time of the early Christians, the newly baptized wore white garments made from new linen. In medieval times, it became a tradition for people to wear new clothes on Easter Sunday, symbolizing the “new life” that comes with the Resurrection. In some places it was believed that bad luck would come to those who could afford new Easter clothes but refused to buy them.

Holy Water blessings: Some families bring holy water containers to Mass on Easter so they can bring home some Easter water, which is blessed during the Easter Vigil, to bless their homes.

Our family actually celebrates most of these customs! I think it is the traditions and rituals that make this season so meaningful, at least for me. And while I still don’t care for easter egg hunts, I do still love beautifully decorated eggs! I am absolutely fascinated by the famous Fabergé eggs that were created for the Russian Royalty. And of course I love the intricate and delicately painted Polish Pisanki!! One of my prized possessions is a beautiful black egg, embellished with gold and pearl, that opens up to reveal a tiny jewelry box. It plays music, as well!

Most of us would never even consider helping someone who had been mean to us.  We would probably never want to see or speak to them again, let alone go live with them!  Yet that is exactly what St. Patrick did. And because of his obedience, he is one of the most popular and famous saints ever. (Although I’m not exactly sure he would approve of the drunken revelry that ensues each year in his honor.)

St. Patrick was actually Scottish, not Irish.  He was captured and taken to Ireland at the tender age of 14, where he spent six years in slavery.  Rather than becoming bitter and angry toward God for his misfortune, like most of us would, he turned to God in prayer for comfort and strength.  When he was 20 years old, God came to him in a dream and told him to go home.  Patrick believed God, escaping his enslavement and being reunited with his family.  But the Irish still called to him in his dreams. (We Irish folk are hard to forget!!)

He entered the priesthood, eventually becoming a bishop.  He spent many years in Rome doing great work before he was sent to Ireland to spread the message of the Gospel.  He was chosen because of something he’d learned during his years as a slave: Celtic!  He was able to communicate with the Irish.  And, as History clearly testifies, he communicated with them beautifully! He preached all over Ireland, even in the face of grave danger from the Druids, many of whom would have rather killed Patrick than convert to Christianity.  Patrick and his followers were imprisoned and sentenced to death many times.  However, by the time of his death in 461, he had converted virtually all of Ireland to Christianity.

Patrick is well known for using a shamrock as an object lesson on the Trinity.  He had an unassuming manner and a gentle way of speaking.  He was known for his humility and disinterest in material things.  He is also credited for chasing all the snakes out of Ireland, although I’m not sure that’s ever been proven!

For me, St. Patrick challenges me to rise to the occasion, and accept whatever lies in front of me with a positive attitude and trust in God.  I’ve never been enslaved, per se, but I’ve certainly been caught in situations that I felt very trapped in. St. Patrick is an amazing example of how to deal with those situations.

And, for those of you who love timelines (like me!) here is some interesting trivia. St. Patrick lived from 385 – 461 AD. (Why do I always think he was around during the Middle Ages?) Below are some people and events that coincided with his lifetime:

• The rise of Buddhism occurred in the late 300’s.
• St. Augustine lived from 354 – 430 AD.
• Hippocrates began movement toward medicine as science in the 400’s.
• And, last but not least, the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire occurred between 337 – 476 AD.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!

Lent is a season of great reflection for me. In fact, Lent is my favorite of all the Liturgical seasons.  I think it is because the daily readings and meditations put me so much more in touch with not just my inner darkness and sinfulness, making me very aware of how much I need mercy and forgiveness, but because they lead me very clearly and gently to God, the only real source of them.

I think that this year, more than ever before, I have become amazingly aware of how much God has extended His mercy to me, of how much He has forgiven me.  For whatever reason, that has never been something that has been very tangible to me in the past.  Perhaps it is because of the Bible study I am doing on holiness. Or maybe it’s due to the fact that I’m getting older. Perhaps it is because I have managed to prune some of the major chaos out of my life, making it much easier for me to find God.  The more ’static’ I have in my daily world, the harder it is for me to hear God’s voice.  I have a lot less ’static’ than I used to.

I don’t mean I’m not busy.  I am as busy as ever, if not more so.  But when I am busy with things that serve God, those things don’t tend to stress me out and distract me from Him.  I have found not only the time, but the desire to read the daily readings, to meditate on the writings of the Saints and the Early Church Fathers.  Without fail, those things give me energy and enthusiasm for not only God and my Faith, but my daily life. I am empowered with repentance, the only prerequisite for receiving that mercy and forgiveness.

into your way of peace

what does it take?
create in me a new heart,
renew my mind and
make me holy
like you, O Lord!

i have hidden in the valleys,
haunted by my guilt
never daring to seek the Light;
telling myself it was enough
to remember the warmth,
clutching hollow memories
of who I used to be.

and yet you saw me,
crouching in the shadow of the Cross
collecting your tears
to mix with my wine.
you looked down on me
in love and compassion
and suddenly I knew
i could yet ascend
the mountain of the Lord
and stand before your gates!

all I have to offer
are your own tears,
nothing of my own has value.
i have treasured them
all this time
wrapped up in my heart,
a hopeful fountain of grace.
praying that someday
the shadows would lift, and
your dawn from on high
would indeed break upon my darkness
and guide my feet
into your way of peace.

(Scripture References: Psalm 24 and Luke 1:68-79)

“Holiness consists in carrying out God’s will with joy. Faithfulness forges saints. . . . The first step toward holiness is the will to attain it. With a will that is whole we love God, we opt for Him, we run toward Him, we reach Him, we possess Him. Often, under the pretext of humility, of confidence, of abandonment, we forget about using our will. But it all depends on these words–I want or I do not want. I have to pour out all my energy into the words ‘I want.’ We cannot decide to become saints without a great effort of renunciation, of resisting temptations, of combat, persecution, and of all sorts of sacrifices. It is not possible to love God except at one’s own expense.” ~*~Mother Teresa of Calcutta~*~

I am doing a Bible Study on Holiness (Courageous Love: A Bible Study on Holiness for Women, by Stacy Mitch) and found this quote in the study guide. I thought it was amazingly profound. But then again, that is usually my reaction to most things Mother Teresa said! Anyway, I think what really struck me was how it stands in such stark contrast to the “Me” Culture of American Christianity. I have never been able to stomach “prosperity” doctrines, which teach that God will bless you financially, physically and spiritually, if you just believe hard enough, pray hard enough, and act Christian enough. Even a cursory glance at history reveals that such a belief is ridiculous!

So I loved what Mother Teresa said about renunciation, resisting temptations, combat, persecution and all sorts of sacrifices. It makes so much more sense to me. And, I also love what she said about forgetting to use our will. I don’t know about anyone else, but I can find a million excuses to not exercise my will in serving God, and why that’s really okay. But in the end, it’s up to me to choose God, to choose holiness. Anything else is really not okay. I’m so glad his mercies are new every morning!!!

Suffering is a part of life, on some level or another. I’ve never met someone who hasn’t felt pain at some point. We all deal with it differently, expressing it with varying degrees of openness, but we are all far too familiar with pain: emotional, mental, physical.So it is comforting to me to know that my God suffered, too. To know that he endured measures of emotional, mental and physical anguish that I cannot even begin to imagine or comprehend, because that means that no matter how bad things might seem to me, He can relate, and can be there for me. And not only that, but He can bring meaning to our pain.

Someone expressed this really well to me today: God does not always take our pain away, but he is there to hold us. Isn’t that what a good parent does? God doesn’t save us from pain and suffering, but He is always there for us, and can take our suffering and turn it into growth. Archbishop Fulton Sheen said: “The Goodness of God means that God gives us what we need for our perfection, not what we want for our pleasure and sometimes for our destruction. As a sculptor, He sometimes applies the chisel to the marble of our imperfect selves and knocks off huge chunks of selfishness that His image may better stand revealed. Like a musician, whenever He finds the strings too loose on the violin of our personality, He tightens them even though it hurts, that we may better reveal our hidden harmonies.”

On Fridays during Lent, we have the unique opportunity to participate, in a very small way, in the ultimate suffering of our Savior: The Stations of the Cross. We will pray and meditate at each station, walking along with our Lord, as he makes his slow, treacherous ascent to Calvary. (These events were beautifully dramatized by Mel Gibson in his movie ‘The Passion of the Christ‘) I am always reminded, as we say the words “We adore you, O Christ and we bless you, Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world” of how very much God loves me, and of the lengths to which He has gone to demonstrate that love for me, for all of us. And the Stations of the Cross are such an amazing, tangible way to teach my children how much God loves them. How could anyone refuse a love like that?

The Stations of the Cross

1. Jesus is Condemned to Death
2. Jesus is Made to Bear the Cross
3. Jesus Falls the First Time
4. Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother
5. Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus to Carry His Cross
6. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
7. Jesus Falls the Second Time
8. Jesus Speaks to the Women of Jerusalem
9. Jesus Falls the Third Time
10. Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
11. Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
12. Jesus Dies on the Cross
13. Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross
14. The Body of Jesus is Placed in the Tomb

I am always somewhat surprised by the Gospel Reading for Ash Wednesday. Jesus is talking to his disciples, warning them not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them. He tells them to give alms secretly, to not even let the right hand know what the left is doing. He goes on to exhort them not to be like the hypocrites, standing and praying in the synagogues and on street corners, so that others will see them. He says we should pray in secret. And finally, if we are fasting, it should be our little secret. We should look nice and clean. (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18)

Then we all get in line and go up to receive ashes on our foreheads! At first glance, it seems like we are jumping up and heading straight into what Jesus said to avoid. At first glance. But upon closer examination, there is (or at least there should be) a big difference between the public acts of the hypocrites Jesus condemns in Matthew, and the distribution of ashes on the foreheads of the faithful.

The individuals Jesus was talking about were performing righteous deeds, giving alms, praying and fasting for effect. Everything they did was carefully calibrated to make people think they were holy. It was all a show, a smoke-and-mirrors event. Inside, deep in their hearts, they were far from holy. And I think they knew it, but as long as they could keep up the charade, they didn’t care. Until Jesus came along and saw them for who they really were, and called them on it. No wonder they wanted him dead!

But back to those ashes. The Old Testament is full of references to the use of sackcloth and ashes. Mordecai resorted to sackcloth and ashes when he heard that King Xerxes had decreed that all of the Jews in the Persian Empire were to be killed. (Esther 4:1) Job also used sackcloth and ashes to express his repentance. (Job 42:6). Daniel writes about turning to the Lord with prayer, fasting, sackcloth and ashes. (Daniel 9:3). And in the New Testament, in reference to towns who refused to repent, in spite of all the miracles they’d witnessed, Jesus said, “If the miracles worked in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have reformed in sackcloth and ashes long ago” (Matthew 11:21) You get the idea.

So ashes have been with us a long time. Receiving ashes on the first day of Lent is a practice that dates back to the fifth century. We have even earlier references to the use of ashes being used by the Early Church from the writings of Tertullian (c. 160-220) and Eusebius (c. 260-340).

But these are not the ashes of the hypocrites. These ashes are merely an outward sign of a commitment to an “interior pilgrimage towards him who is the fount of mercy” (Pope Benedict XVI). We no longer use sackcloth, and the ashes are merely symbolic, but the meaning is the same: we are sorry for the way we’ve acted and the things we’ve done, and we want to change. So, this is the first part of the journey toward Easter, toward our rebirth through repentance. How cool is that?

Sources: CatholicCulture.com, Vatican.va