Dear Friends and Readers,
I offer this essay to suggest ways we all might achieve a deeper understanding of the popular feast of Ash Wednesday and find practical ways to implement the call to repentance in our daily lives.
Peace,
Fr. Jim Bacik
Ash Wednesday remains one of the most popular liturgical celebrations of the Church year. According to the CARA research center at Georgetown University, in 2024, 51% of U.S. Catholics attended Mass on Ash Wednesday, the same percentage that attended on Easter Sunday, exceeded only by Christmas that drew 68%. Whatever the reason for Ash Wednesday’s appeal, the liturgy does challenge all of us to refocus and reinterpret the essential meaning of this traditional symbolic action. It is clearly a call to repentance, an invitation to enter wholeheartedly into the Lenten season, an opportunity to think seriously about needed discipline and a summons to more committed discipleship.
In the American Catholic Church there has been a consistent tendency in some conservative and traditionalist groups to interpret the call to repentance in a heavy, moralistic way. The traditional phrase “Dust you are and unto dust you shall return” speaks to some of essential depravity, of abiding unworthiness, of the threat of damnation. For those fighting to overcome a poor self-image and low self-esteem, this message is one more obstacle to genuine growth. Even for the more healthy-minded, this traditional call to repentance sometimes appears as part of a spiritual strategy more interested in fighting pride than building up self-confidence. The wisdom of this strategy is very questionable given the essential fragility of the human ego. Think of how simple statements of criticism or acts of rejection can shake our confidence and produce self-doubt.
The 1963 Liturgical reform of Vatican II included the additional option of the phrase, “Repent and believe the Good News,” said as our foreheads are signed with ashes. This suggests Lent’s positive thrust. Penance has to do with the gospel message that we are encompassed by God’s saving love. We are engaging in self-discipline in order to become more receptive to the Lord’s healing touch. We give things up in order to open up a space that can be filled with the life-giving Spirit. Mortification is for the sake of growth. We are not engaged in a masochistic program of self-deprecation but a positive effort to move toward a healthier Christian maturity.
This larger context for viewing Lenten repentance suggests a general strategy for choosing our Lenten penances: prayerfully discern what kind of spiritual growth we need to become a more faithful and effective Christian. For example, persons who feel the need for more energy to meet both their family and work responsibilities could try to keep a regular routine of exercise and healthy eating habits during Lent that can be maintained after Easter. Those who want to get more out of the Scripture readings at Mass could look at the readings ahead of time, looking for striking phrases, ideas or thoughts so they will be more alert to the Liturgy of the Word during Lent and the following Sundays. Citizens who feel called to help legal immigrants could befriend a family during Lent as a first step to advocating for them throughout the year. Those who fear the rising authoritarianism of the Trump administration could contact their representatives, urging them to exercise their constitutional responsibility to check and balance presidential power.
One of the refreshing aspects of the Lenten liturgies is the reading of the Transfiguration story on the second Sunday. It provides us with a glimpse of the true but usually hidden nature of Jesus as Son of God and serves as a foreshadowing of his resurrection. Placed in the midst of the Lenten season, it reminds us of the surpassing power of Christian faith, offers encouragement for the long haul and provides a positive perspective for viewing penitential practices.
In summary, we do penance not to tear ourselves down but to open ourselves up for Spirit-inspired growth. We struggle with discipline not because we hate ourselves but because we love the Lord. We choose penitential practices not to conform to a traditional piety but to deal constructively with our unique gifts and limitations. We give good things up not to inflict pain but to liberate ourselves from compulsions. We receive the mark of the ashes not as a superstitious practice but as a powerful symbol of our desire to be more open to God, the Gracious Mystery, who summons us to ongoing spiritual growth.