“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.”
Joel 2:15-16
Once upon a time, you
needed to qualify for ashes on Ash Wednesday.
They were reserved for notorious sinners, those whose evil deeds had cut
them off from the communion of the Church.
Like more than one of our inherited Lenten practices, the ashes were
originally part of the church’s discipline for flagrant lawbreakers—thieves,
adulterers, murderers, those who actions brought scandal to all those who
profess Christ’s Name.
Forty days before Easter,
these lawbreakers would come to the courtyard before the church barefoot and
dressed in sackcloth, confessing their misdeeds. These penitents,
as they were called, would heap ashes on their heads, as God’s people had done
in ancient times. This was a a way of
expressing their sorrow for their sins. The
whole community would surround them, chanting the seven Penitential Psalms,
which exalt God’s mercy for the wicked.
The bishop would read from Genesis about Adam and Eve’s expulsion from
paradise. Then the penitents would be
sent away, forbidden from entering the church door. They could return after they had proved their
intention to make a new start through a rigorous fast.
