Never Thought I Would "Do" Ash Wednesday Again

“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, so that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover them with favor as with a shield.”

Psalm 5:11-12

Not only do I wear ashes once a year.
I also, from time-to-time, sport a clerical
collar. Both symbols give me a warm,
but strange connection to the Church
of my youth.

     When I left the Roman Catholic Church as a sophomore in college, I thought my "Ash Wednesday Days" were behind me. The liturgical practice seemed to me, at the time, the exclusive property of Roman Catholics; if I was no longer a practicing Catholic, I had no business eating fish on Fridays or having a clergy person rub palm ashes on my forehead on the first Wednesday in Lent.

     Then I went to seminary, where a professor taught me that any practices in the Church (the western Church, at least) prior to the Reformation are the property of Protestants and Roman Catholics alike. There is about 1,500 years worth of heritage that we share in common. So therefore, Ash Wednesday, which was practiced long before there was an eastern or western Church, or Roman Catholics and Protestants, is "fair game" for liturgical practice.

     Now, I realize this is a totally childish way of looking at things, with the focus on what is "mine" and what is "yours," but for some reason it resonates with me. 

     It helps me to bridge the faith I knew as a child to the faith that I practice today. 

     It allows me to participate in practices shared by friends and family who are still practicing Roman Catholics. 

     And it shows me that Christ's Church is truly catholic, or universal, and that we share a common, ancient heritage.

     It is all ours. 

     Or better yet, it all belongs to Christ.