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Imposition of ashes formula9/3/2023 ![]() Ashes are awesome! Really? It’s pretty humbling isn’t it? The usual Catholic attempts to seem positive and “relevant” such as trendy music and positive “welcoming” themes are often found wanting. We may lament this, but what can we learn from this? Somehow, even if unwittingly, the Church has powerfully connected with a large segment of otherwise non-practicing Catholics as well as the unchurched. But come Ash Wednesday there is an urgent and laser-like focus exhibited by large numbers of otherwise disinterested Catholics, it seems like many are majoring in the minors. Baptisms, confessions, marriages and Mass itself are often delayed, or even wholly omitted. Sadly, to none of the Sacraments is such urgency attached, even among the more faithful. ![]() ![]() Even days before, the phones start ringing and rather urgent voices on the other end ask, “When will ashes be given?” One might almost think that ashes were necessary for salvation. Have tour busses unloaded their riders from distant lands? Is this the holiday season where many are here visiting family? No, this is Ash Wednesday, a most peculiar day. But almost half (!) or more of the congregation is populated by faces unknown. To be sure there are many familiar faces of those who regularly attend. On this day, almost every priest looks out into a congregation that is barely recognizable. ![]() Reflecting on last week’s Ash Wednesday Masses it is possible to observe an unusual and puzzling sight. ![]()
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