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From the perspective of those outside of the Catholic and Orthodox Christian traditions, Ash Wednesday appears odd. On one\u00a0occasion, I can recall \u2013 on the campus of a\u00a0Catholic<\/em><\/strong> college, no less \u2013 overhearing undergraduates speculate that ashes on the foreheads of students must be the product of \u201cpledge week\u201d for fraternities and sororities. (Yikes!) Frequently, in the classroom, I would encounter the belief that Christians should always be aware of their need for redemption, and that the practice of distributing ashes one day a year served to undercut what should be a constant mindfulness. In other words, it makes what should be a daily awareness into an annual activity. While I would agree that the disciple of Christ should always be mindful of his\/her need for redemption, and Christ\u2019s abundant love for us in bringing it about, the human reality is that we are in need of constant reminding. We forget. And we not only forget because we have poor memories, we forget because we have fallen memories.<\/p>\n If we take the time to reflect upon memory, we should be struck by its power. After all, it is a sort of conjuring. My Nonna (of blessed memory) passed away some years ago, and yet I can recall her image, the sound of her voice, and how the soft skin of her wrinkled hand felt against mine. Every now and again, I will even associate a particular scent with that of her home. It\u2019s difficult to describe but, when prompted by a similar smell, I\u2019ll say to myself: \u201cThat smells like Nonna\u2019s house.\u201d The substantial existence of these things has long since gone, but in my memory I experience them again. What a truly marvelous gift we human beings have been given!<\/p>\n Lent is that time of the liturgical year when we especially recall the gospel proclamation of Christ himself: \u201c\u2018The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel\u2019\u201d (Mk 1:14-15; see Mt 4:17). During today\u2019s Mass,\u00a0a portion of this passage is one of two that one might hear when receiving ashes; the other being: \u201cRemember that \u2018you are dust and to dust you shall return\u2019\u201d (Gen 3:19). It is a somewhat traditional English translation to render the word \u201crepent\u201d in this verse from the original word \u201cmetanoeite<\/em>,\u201d but the Greek word has a much richer meaning. It is a combination of the words \u201cmind\u201d [nous<\/em>] and \u201cbeyond\u201d [meta<\/em>], and one could interpret this word rather physically as meaning \u201ctake your head and turn it 180 degrees.\u201d In one sense, a better English word than \u201crepent\u201d is \u201cconversion.\u201d What we remember today is that Christ calls us to himself, to live in communion with him, and that this communion requires being attuned to him in heart, soul, and mind (cf. Lk 10:27; Dt 6:5). In short, today Christ calls us to \u201creturn to [him] with [our] whole heart\u201d (Jl 1:12).<\/p>\n For the disciple of Christ, this turning of heart and mind should be a daily occurrence, an ever present mindfulness. But all too often, we forget. And forgetfulness often doesn\u2019t happen all at once, but gradually our memories erode like stones by the seashore. Prayer becomes simply rote, then neglected. Reception of the sacraments (especially confession!) becomes infrequent. One\u2019s spiritual life becomes the discrete unit of a time-managed schedule \u201cblocked off\u201d on Sundays from 10 am to noon.<\/p>\n If the above description resonates with you, today Christ is proclaiming his good news to you. This is not because he has waited for the appropriate day on the liturgical calendar to do so (he is always calling to you). But because we fragile human beings need more explicit reminders of Christ\u2019s call to conversion from time to time. We need Ash Wednesday because we forget. We forget that Christ\u2019s love for us calls for our love in response. We forget that our love for him is lived out in a life of prayer, fasting, and charity. And we forget that this life \u2013 while not easy \u2013 is joyful.<\/p>\n And so today we are reminded of death, so that we may live. We are reminded of our mortality, so that we might enjoy immortality. We are reminded of our sin, so that we might be reconciled to God. We are reminded on this one particular day, that Christ calls us to himself each and every day<\/p>\n Anthony Coleman<\/strong>\u00a0teaches theology for the\u00a0Saint Joseph\u2019s College Online Theology Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From the perspective of those outside of the Catholic and Orthodox Christian traditions, Ash Wednesday appears odd. On one\u00a0occasion, I can recall \u2013 on the campus of a\u00a0Catholic college, no less \u2013 overhearing undergraduates speculate that ashes on the foreheads … Continue reading