Dear Parishioners of Mary Immaculate and St. Rose,
When you read this it will be the second week of Lent, but as I write it my mind is still filled with the events of Ash Wednesday. I am always, even after thirty-seven years as a priest, amazed by the number of people who attend Mass for Ash Wednesday. We had four Masses in Kirksville: two at Mary Immaculate and two at the Newman Center.
I began with the 8:00 a.m. Mass with the school children. The Mass was full and the kids were great. They are well prepared for the season of Lent. They understand well what Lent is about and the teachers in their school help them to observe it.
There was a noon Mass at Newman but I was not the celebrant. Father Franklin tells me it was well attended. I had both the 5:00 Mass at Newman and the 6:30 Mass at Mary Immaculate; these Masses were standing room only. The sacramental of having a cross of ashes placed on the forehead with the reminder, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return,” is very powerful. It helps us to begin Lent with prayer and penance so as to celebrate the Easter sacraments with gratitude and joy!
I heard of other Christian groups giving out ashes in public places and even with a drive through so you wouldn’t even have to get out of the car. I think that is missing the whole point of repenting in the midst of worship and community.
There was a story in the news regarding a fourth grade boy in a public school in Utah who showed up with ashes on his forehead. He was Catholic and had been to Mass before school. His teacher didn’t think this appropriate so she had him wash the ashes off. The boy’s grandmother found out and the teacher was corrected. There was a Catholic deacon who worked for the school system so he came to the school and reapplied blessed ashes to the boy’s forehead. What an amazing witness this young boy is to all of us. It will make me even more proud to wear the ashes of repentance on my forehead.
But now all the ashes are washed away. The echo of the phrase, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return,” still hangs in the air. Lent is a time to remember that Jesus came to save us. Let us keep that thought in our minds as we continue to make our way through this holy season of Lent.
Msgr. Cox