Memento Mori: Ash WednesdayThe ashes aren’t there to say, “I’m fasting.” The ashes are to say: “We’re all going to die.”
Today on Ash Wednesday, Christians get a cross of ash smudged on their foreheads. Thus begins the Lenten season of fasting, when we walk with the fasting Christ in the wilderness for 40 days. Our Lord taught, “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting.” (Mt. 6:16). But isn’t ashes on the forehead just such a disfigurement and display of fasting? Critics of the tradition will often say so. But this misses the point of the ashes. The ashes aren’t there to say, “I’m fasting.” The ashes are to say: “We’re all going to die.” True to Christ’s teachings, the Church in fact abandoned the Old Testament practice of wearing sackcloth and ashes as an outward sign of fasting in the common Christian life. There have always been many fasts throughout the Catholic liturgical year, all without any outward signs or fanfare, but Ash Wednesday is a peculiar time when such a sign is used: ashes. The ashes are a reminder to the world that our sojourn here on earth has one final destination, the dust of the grave. The ashes are an outward signpost saying memento mori: remember you must die. Our fasting, however, is toward Our Lord, who is the Resurrection and the Life (Jn. 11:25), and so in truth, as preparation for, and anticipatory participation in, Resurrection Sunday, it is fundamentally a sign and testimony of eternal life in Christ. Insofar as life does not truly end with the death of which the Lenten ashes are a reminder, so also, the Lenten fast is not an end in itself. Spiritually, it’s not a fast at all. For “man does not live by bread alone” (Mt. 4:4), nor are we to “work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life” (Jn. 6:27). Fasting in imitation of Christ is among the rich spread of sumptuous foods which he has given us that endures to eternal life. He taught his apostles that his frequent fasting was “meat” (Jn:32), and the gifts of the divine life cannot all be attained without fasting (Mt. 17:21). And so, though we fast from earthly food, we do not fast from the heavenly sustenance of Christ — we draw near to feast with and upon him all the more (Jn. 6:53), casting aside the veil of distractions with our chosen Lenten fast. May your Lenten fast be a feast of spiritual nourishment and divine rest in the Lord’s peace.
Song Meditation: |
To Die Is Gain, by Seán McMahon Seán McMahon |
Life is tough as a tack and hard as a nail
So I’m prone to flights of fancy and climbing tall tales
And all that’s anchoring this hot air balloon
Keeping me from flying off too soon
Is knowing that you need me like I need you
To die is gain, there’s too much trouble on this here plane
To die is gain, but that’d cause you too much pain
I want to live forever so’s that I can stay for your sake
And get a glimpse of heaven, while I’m in this place, in your face
To live is to love you
To die is gain
Aw you’re so melancholy, I’m so blue
Oh, it’s oh so overwhelming, what do we do?
Well, seal up that teary fountain
For faith can move these mountains
But I do believe we’ll be climbing ‘til our days are through
To die is gain…
One fine morning when this life is over
I’ll be there to help you through the door
In this world, we’ll grow frail and old
But in the one to come, I can hold you forevermore
No more tears, no more sorrow, nor pain
To die is gain…
To live is to love you
To die is gain
ICYMI: “Whether We’re Awake Or Asleep”
“Whether We’re Awake or Asleep” is a musical meditation on 1st Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 — Christ’s reconciling love for all beings which encourages us toward faithful unity and mutual understanding. This is another experiment in melodic hip hop sermonizing inspired by Tobe Nwigwe and Father Dave Swantek, the rapping Catholic priest.
Whether We're Awake or Asleep, by Seán McMahon Seán McMahon |
“You”
“You” is a rap about self-discovery, soul retrieval, and theosis in the spiritual life of Christian mysticism. I’m been a huge fan of Beck for years, so I suppose it is inevitable that I would try my hand at rap. My Christian rap was inspired by two artists I recently discovered, Tobe Nwigwe and Father Dave Swantek, the rapping Catholic priest.
You, by Seán McMahon Seán McMahon |
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