“Because I do not hope to turn again…”: On the attraction of Ash Wednesday

The Judaeo-Christian Tradition is not cyclical but linear. The ashes are intended to break the cycle of sin and death, setting us on a straight course toward infinity.

What is this strange fascination with ashes? Today in Grand Central Station, if it was a typical Ash Wednesday, the priests of St. Agnes Church imposed ashes on the foreheads of over 20,000 people, which “congregation” was comprised of fervent Catholics, lukewarm Catholics, apostate Catholics and non-Catholics! What power does that smudge of ash exert? Better yet, why?

Whether consciously or not, I suspect the average person recognizes something incredibly primal in the symbol of the ashes as their “wispiness” hints at our own vulnerability and mortality, reminding us that even Americans after a century of science and progress live under a death sentence. Millionaires and mighty boxers die just as surely as paupers and weaklings. But this realization should not give us cause to wallow in the macabre; the Church intends something quite different, something caught by none other than T. S. Eliot in his poem devoted to a reflection on the meaning of this day.

In that 1930 work, written between the two wars, Eliot begins with the line: “Because I do not hope to turn again…” What does he have in mind? The notion of “turning” is an extremely biblical concept. The Hebrew word shuv bespeaks the attitude and action of “conversion” – that change of mind and heart which leads always to a change in action. The English poet knew that if this day has any significance beyond the superstitious or cultural, it has to elicit a change in behavior. St. Luke tells us that after Peter had denied his Lord, he “turned” and saw that sacred and agony-riddled Face. That turning toward the face of Christ launched Peter on the life-long journey of remaining “turned” toward the Master and away from the Evil One.

Read more at CatholicWorldReport.com…