Ash Wednesday

Ian Shelley Alabanza - MA in Theology, Lecturer, School of Christian Studies, USJ.

Everybody is excited about the next few days ahead of us. These days are arguably the most anticipated days of the year in this part of the world. There will be plenty of food, drink, gifts, parties, and exciting events. It is not a surprise that the people of Macau would want to extend the Lunar New Year celebrations for as long as possible. But this coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, and for Macau’s Catholics that means that the festive spirit has to give way to the quiet, prayerful, and reflective mood required by the liturgical season that is approaching.
In the Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. The Lenten Season is a time of preparation for Easter—the celebration of the rising of Jesus Christ from the dead. Ash Wednesday sets the tone for Lent which is a time of more intense prayer and reflection, doing good deeds for others, and turning away from one’s sinful ways. On Ash Wednesday, Catholics are obliged to observe fasting and abstinence. As a way of fasting, adults are to have only one full meal during the day and they are to abstain from consuming meat.
Catholics are also encouraged to go to mass on Ash Wednesday and as part of the celebration, the faithful fall in line to receive the ashes which the priest marks on their forehead with the sign of the cross. The ashes used for this celebration come from burnt palm leaves that were blessed during the previous year’s Palm Sunday. The ashes are blessed with holy water and are applied on the person’s forehead with an accompanying formula. Traditionally the words used were, “Remember that from dust you came and unto dust you shall return.” This formula was supposed to remind the believer of the frailty of life and the reality of death, and thus, the need to repent and be reconciled with God. Today there is another formula that is more commonly used, “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel.” These words give emphasis to a more positive attitude coming into the season of Lent. It encourages the believer not only to avoid sin but also to live and put into practice the teachings of the gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ.
In some parts of the world, Ash Wednesday is preceded by days of merrymaking, grand celebrations, partying, street parades, and similar excesses. The world-renowned Carnaval of Brazil is perhaps the most popular and in fact, this year’s Carnaval will kick off tomorrow and will last until the 16th of this month. In the United States, several cities celebrate a Mardi Gras Season which culminates on Mardi Gras Day (literally meaning “Fat Tuesday”) and this day also falls on the 16th, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Such celebrations are meant to be days when people indulge in food and drink and other pleasurable activities before embarking on the fasting, abstinence, and penitential activities required during the season of Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday.
Indeed, Ash Wednesday is a good example of a religious observance that comes shoulder to shoulder with and stands beside what can be said to be an antithetical celebration that is quite the opposite of the spirit it was meant to encourage. Human life is full of opposites that always come face to face with each other. The holy and the sacred coexist with the secular and mundane.

©MDTimes/ University of Saint Joseph