What’s with the Ashes?

It happens every year. People all throughout society do it. And they act like nothing strange is happening. Yet their face betrays them. A gray mark of ashes is smudged on their forehead, and they walk around society as if it were completely normal. And many wonder, “what is going on?”

No doubt, this Catholic practice confuses many people. But have you ever wondered why Catholics wear ashes?

Catholics kick off the penitential season of Lent on Ash Wednesday, a day on which all Catholics are called a communal fast. On Ash Wednesday Catholics who attend Mass receive the sign of the cross on their forehead, drawn with ashes. As the priest traces the ashes across each forehead, he says the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The words serve as a reminder of what God spoke to Adam shortly after the Fall: “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3:19).

Not exactly a pleasant reminder, right? Those were some of the less-happy words in the Bible. In fact, they were some of the first words in the whole of salvation history that addressed man’s fallen state. So why the sad reminder?

Well you see, Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent, a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that prepares people for Easter.[1] But even more, Lent is a time for penance; a time to realize how we fall short of God’s call.

But to some this may cause concern. Afterall, doesn’t the Bible tell us not to show when we fast? In Jesus’ words: 

And when Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you (Matt 6:16-18).

Yikes. Isn’t that exactly what Catholics are doing when they mark their faces with ashes while they fast?

Well, not exactly. It’s not that simple. To understand how Ash Wednesday squares with Matthew 6, we must look “under the hood” of this practice and first understand why Catholics celebrate Ash Wednesday in the first place.


A Sign of Repentance

The practice of wearing ashes is not without foundation. It’s a practice that is all through the Old Testament, and it often is accompanied by a humble return to God. After Job’s encounter with God, he says, “therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). In the book of Daniel we see Daniel did penance for the sake of his people. Daniel sought God by ”prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes” (Dan 9:3).

The examples could be multiplied, but suffice it to say that the wearing of ashes is not without deep roots in the Old Testament. And it is a practice that even Jesus acknowledged. For instance, Jesus said of unrepentant cities that “if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes” (Matt 11:21).

So the wearing of ashes is a practice that is associated with conversion to God. It marks a moment when man recognized his own mortality, humbling himself before God. It’s an outward sign of inward repentance.


A Nationwide Fast

Wearing ashes is often done alongside fasting (as in Daniel 9:3). On Ash Wednesday Catholics wear ashes and fast throughout the day, and it is the kickoff to an entire season of fasting for millions of Catholics. The first Bible passage read at the Ash Wednesday Mass sets the stage for this. Joel prophecies to the people, “‘Yet even now,’ says the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.’ Return to the Lord, your God” (Joel 2:12-13).

Joel calls the people to return to God, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. But he adds an interesting detail: “rend your hearts and not your garments.” So from the very start of this call to repentance, you can see the warning: Don’t just look like you are turning toward God. Actually do it!

The reading continues: “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber” (Joel 2:15-16).

In this call to repentance, God wanted all of the people to fast together, as a nation. This wasn’t just a call to personal conversion (though that is certainly included). It was a call for the whole nation to turn back to God together.

This practice can even be seen in the Jewish celebration, Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), instituted in Leviticus 16:29-30 as a day of fasting for the atonement of sins. It is a day of public fasting and abstinence, in which the people as a whole participate, and it is celebrated by Jews to this day.[2]

So even the idea of a public, communal fast is seen in the Old Testament - a fast that calls for visible sackcloth and ashes with the invisible conversion of heart. Such a fast would no doubt be a powerful experience, especially when practiced in a great multitude. 

If a public fast is a common practice God called his people to in the Old Testament, one may wonder why Jesus bothered to warn us about making our fasting visible. Afterall, Jesus didn’t waste words.


Why the Concern?

Jesus’ warning about a public show of piety was not without warrant. Notice the way he phrases His warning: “And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men” (Matt 6:16). I’d like to make 2 points on this:

First, Jesus is specifically calling out hypocrites who seek the admiration of others rather than God. Their motivation was all wrong.

But secondly, there is a time for private fasting. While some fasts are public and to be done as a community, most fasting ought to be done privately and quietly. In fact, after the communal fast of Ash Wednesday, Catholics are called to personal acts of penance throughout the season of Lent. In these fasts, Catholics are generally encouraged to keep them quiet, so as not to draw attention to them.

You see, fasting becomes a negative thing when people seek the admiration of others rather than God. Catholic apologist Tim Staples says that, “There is nothing wrong with using a public fast that includes ashes, which are a powerful symbol of humility and mortality. What is wrong is abusing that symbol to gain the approval and admiration of others.”[3]

 

Final Thoughts

After all the talk of how Ash Wednesday squares with Jesus’ warning in Matthew 6, some might be surprised to hear that the Gospel reading at the Ash Wednesday Mass is this excerpt from Matthew 6. The Church embraces Jesus’ words concerning public displays of piety. When we see Matthew 6 in light of the rest of scripture, we see a balance of personal fasting and fasting as a community. Each has an important role in the Christian walk.

The cross of ashes on the forehead is not meant to be a way of publicizing our own personal piety. Rather, it is a reminder. Fr. Mike Schmitz said that if a Catholic is asked why he is wearing a cross of ashes, he should simply say that, “the ashes mean that I’m a sinner, but the cross means that I have a savior.”[4]