Who hasn’t gotten that question on Ash Wednesday before? Do you feel
silly when people ask you about your ashes? And is it hard to answer their
questions? Having ashes on your forehead isn’t just some weird Catholic
thing: it’s a tradition that finds its roots in the Old Testament. “I turned to
the Lord God, to seek help, in prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth,
and ashes” (Daniel 9:3).
When the ashes are placed on our foreheads in the sign of the Cross, it is
a reminder of several things. First, it is a call to repentance: a physical sign
that we are sinners in need of forgiveness, which is how the prophets
used it in the Old Testament. Second, it is to remind us that God created
us from the earth and when we die, we will return to it.
But here’s the best part: As Pope Benedict XVI once said, “Man is dust
and
to dust he shall return, but dust is precious in God's eyes because
God
created man, destining him to immortality.” God so loves us that, even
when our bodies return to the dust, our souls are meant to live forever
with him. The ashes symbolize all of this.
Not so silly anymore, is it?