The symbolism behind the ashes
Ken Long
Issue date: 2/26/09 Section: News
Some students walked SIUE's campus Wednesday with dark, dusty smudges on their foreheads.
They weren't dirty. They were celebrating Ash Wednesday.
Sr. Claudia Calzetta, director of Catholic Campus Ministries, said the practices and traditions of the Christian season of Lent date back to the year 500, and symbolize the imperfection of people who strive to improve.
"Lent is about conversion," Calzetta said. "It's about people trying to make themselves better."
Calzetta said Lent is the 40-day period that leads into the Holy Week for Catholicism, ending with Easter Sunday. The Catholic Church officially adopted the traditions and practices of Lent in the 11th century, including the ash mark on foreheads, abstinence and fasting.
The ash used at the Catholic Ash Wednesday service in the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability is made from the palm branches from the previous year's Palm Sunday. The bishop blesses the ashes after the palms are burnt, making them sacramental. Calzetta said the ashes are to remind people they are mortal and should remain reverent.
"Sometimes we forget that there's a pecking order," Calzetta said. "(The ash) is a sign that you're going to die (someday)."
Junior international business major Evin Opp, a member of Catholic Newman Student Union, who is currently in France as a international student, said she honored Ash Wednesday from across the ocean. She also said she saw many French natives with ash marks.
"I was very surprised to see that many of the shops were closed to observe Ash Wednesday," Opp said.
Calzetta said ash on a person was a sign that a person had sinned in Biblical times. She said Jesus made the connection with the ashes to fasting and praying.
"Fasting is challenging ourselves to do the harder thing," Calzetta said.
Those celebrating Lent are not supposed to eat between meals on Ash Wednesday. Breakfast and lunch are smaller, while supper is bigger.
They weren't dirty. They were celebrating Ash Wednesday.
Sr. Claudia Calzetta, director of Catholic Campus Ministries, said the practices and traditions of the Christian season of Lent date back to the year 500, and symbolize the imperfection of people who strive to improve.
"Lent is about conversion," Calzetta said. "It's about people trying to make themselves better."
Calzetta said Lent is the 40-day period that leads into the Holy Week for Catholicism, ending with Easter Sunday. The Catholic Church officially adopted the traditions and practices of Lent in the 11th century, including the ash mark on foreheads, abstinence and fasting.
The ash used at the Catholic Ash Wednesday service in the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability is made from the palm branches from the previous year's Palm Sunday. The bishop blesses the ashes after the palms are burnt, making them sacramental. Calzetta said the ashes are to remind people they are mortal and should remain reverent.
"Sometimes we forget that there's a pecking order," Calzetta said. "(The ash) is a sign that you're going to die (someday)."
Junior international business major Evin Opp, a member of Catholic Newman Student Union, who is currently in France as a international student, said she honored Ash Wednesday from across the ocean. She also said she saw many French natives with ash marks.
"I was very surprised to see that many of the shops were closed to observe Ash Wednesday," Opp said.
Calzetta said ash on a person was a sign that a person had sinned in Biblical times. She said Jesus made the connection with the ashes to fasting and praying.
"Fasting is challenging ourselves to do the harder thing," Calzetta said.
Those celebrating Lent are not supposed to eat between meals on Ash Wednesday. Breakfast and lunch are smaller, while supper is bigger.
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