Five Meanings of the Ashes We Receive Today

Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 02-13-18 | Msgr. Charles Pope

[Salvation]

Video

[Salvation]

Monsignor Pope Ping!

[rjsimmon]

Notice that Job does not merely repent in a general sense. Rather, having encountered God, he realizes that God is God, and that he, Jacob, is a creature, mere dust and ashes in the presence of God, who is being itself, who is all in all. Yes, Jacob is a son in the presence of a Father; he is not God’s equal that he might question Him or put Him on trial.

Job or Jacob? Make up your mind, Monsignor.

Mourning for the Hebrews/Jews consisted of covering oneself in dust or ash signifying to be buried while still alive.

[Salvation]

Notice that Job does not merely repent in a general sense. Rather, having encountered God, he realizes that God is God, and that he, Jacob Job, is a creature, mere dust and ashes in the presence of God, who is being itself, who is all in all. Yes, Jacob is a son in the presence of a Father; he is not God’s equal that he might question Him or put Him on trial.

Fixed it.

[Salvation]

Oops, not quite.

Notice that Job does not merely repent in a general sense. Rather, having encountered God, he realizes that God is God, and that he, Jacob Job, is a creature, mere dust and ashes in the presence of God, who is being itself, who is all in all. Yes, Jacob Job is a son in the presence of a Father; he is not God’s equal that he might question Him or put Him on trial.

OK, now it's fixed.

[Bigg Red]

Some helpful reminders. Thanks.

[Pearls Before Swine]

If you don't have the time for a full service, there are now drive-thrus:

[Pearls Before Swine]

Right click on the image sign, and select “open in new tab.”

[Pearls Before Swine]

I should have used the alt= option within the tag to handle the subtitle and force the display. Sorry.

[MomwithHope]

We went to the 7:45 this morning. Bigger attendance than usual. Wishing all a fruitful Lent!

[joma89]

Catholic ping.

JoMa

[Buckeye McFrog]

Stuart Varney of the Fox News Channel tells an awful story about his days working at CNN.

He had returned to work on Ash Wednesday with ashes on his forehead. He was confronted in the halls by none other than Ted Turner himself, and subjected to an ear-beating assault about being “stupid” and “believing in fairy tales”.

Not long afterwards he quit and went to Fox.

[MomwithHope]

Bummer. I remember Bob Novak, the political commentator, being on national tv with ashes.

[Salvation]

I helped the regular sacristan set up this morning. We almost did not have enough hosts. One EMHC ran out of consecrated hosts, so the priest finished and gave him his bowl.

[Salvation]

Five Meanings of the Ashes We Receive Today
Are Your Ashes Real Ashes or Just Ritual Ones?
'You Are Dust': The Message of Ash Wednesday
ASH WEDNESDAY

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You are Going to Die – An After Ash Wednesday Reflection
9 things to know and share about Ash Wednesday
Remember That Thou Art Dust (Ash Wednesday)
Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Fast with suggestions for family observance of the season
U.S. bishops' president asks for Ash Wednesday prayers for Ukraine
Ash Wednesday: Turn Away From Sin and Turn Toward the Lord
On Ash Wednesday
What Is It About Ash Wednesday?
"When you fast. . .": An Ash Wednesday Post

Questions About Keeping the Ashes on Out in Public
Ash Wednesday in the Public Square (the phenomenon that draws in so many)
Ash Wednesday: It's Not Just For Catholics Anymore
Luxury hotel manager fired after making vulgar Ash Wednesday remarks
New York Palace Hotel boss Niklaus Leuenberger gets the door after Ash Wednesday slur
Homily for February 25, 2009 - Ash Wednesday - We just can't live without ashes!
Remember, O Man [Ash Wednesday]
Ash Wednesday
The Day After Fat Tuesday [Ash Wednesday, Beginning of Lent]
Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Fast-Family observance Lenten season [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]

Other Christians embrace Lent: "We are reclaiming a sense of history"
More turn to Ash Wednesday
Being Catholic: Sacred Things, Ashes
Ash Wednesday
Where does Ash Wednesday get its ashes?
Every Ash Wednesday comes the question about ashes: to burn or to buy?
Pope will preside at Ash Wednesday Mass, procession; act will renew ancient tradition
Ash Wednesday: Preparing For Easter
Ash Wednesday: Our Shifting Understanding of Lent
Ash Wednesday

[boatbums]

I remember good, ol' Joe Biden on national TV with the ashes on his forehead! Too bad so many people only seem to want the notice of others to their assumed piosity but then go about their lives with no outward testimony of a truly changed heart.

"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven...Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. (Matthew 6:1,16-18)

[Salvation]

The message given to the parishioner is one of two.

“Repent and believe in the Gospel.”

“Remember, you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

“Remember thou art dust, and unto dust thou shall return.”

I prefer the old-fashioned “thou” one.

[Biggirl]

I like the first one, because of the need for repentance and conversion. Then the one about dust.

[FroggyTheGremlim]

After anointing the parishoners with ashes, our pastor said “I was surprised that several folks held out their tongues. I must admit that I was tempted...”

You had to be Catholic.

[EDINVA]

Never made a typo, eh?