Ash Wednesday begins Lent

Hours before he would distribute ashes to students of Notre Dame Academy, Father Bill Quinlivan was welcoming a local television station reporter into St. Martin of Tours Church in South Buffalo to explain the background of Ash Wednesday. He noted that while it’s not a holy day of obligation, it’s one of the busiest days of the year for Catholic priests.

“There’s just something in the appeal of it. People feel like they’re getting something, although hopefully we’re giving them something,” said Father Quinlivan, pastor of the Catholic Family of South Buffalo. “Every time they come celebrate the Eucharist, they hear the word of God, take it in, they receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. But there’s just something about the ashes that has the level of ashes and palms. They used to jokingly say ‘C and E’ Catholics for Christmas and Easter. But I always say there’s ‘A and P’ Catholics. Somehow, we have to just keep encouraging people to come back.”

For many, Lent means giving something up. It could be cookies or chocolate. It could be alcoholic beverages or video games. Father Quinlivan suggests Lent should also be about letting things in.

“I like to think of it as making room. For example, some people are fasting from social media or television. But when you make room in your schedule, you make room for the Lord and you know when you make more time for prayer,” Father Quinlivan said. “You know when you are not eating certain foods and you’re simplifying your diet, you’re not spending so much time thinking about ‘what do I want?’ You fast and you pray, and you give certain things. You just literally clear the lane for the Lord’s grace to move.”

Father Quinlivan, during his morning television interviews on WIVB-TV, spoke of Ash Wednesday as a reminder of our mortality, that we come from ashes and to ashes we shall return.

“As the Church is praying for Pope Francis, we’re aware how fragile this life is and that every life on earth is limited,” Father Quinlivan said. “It’s always good to be ready to meet the Lord and the dying to ourselves is the invitation of the Gospels of Lent, to pray and fast and give alms. Jesus says to do that in private, not so much in public. Some people get a little nervous about having ashes on their forehead in public, but it’s only for the day. And then the rest of Lent, we are carrying the Cross in our hearts.”

While most commonly observed by Catholics, Ash Wednesday is a Christian holy day that carries significant meaning for all Christians as a turning of hearts towards God in repentance and prayer. The symbolism of Ash Wednesday and Lent is a remembrance of human mortality, the need for salvation, and the period of temptation and testing that Jesus faced in the desert.