Ash Wednesday.
Until I moved to Philadelphia, I had never seen anyone practicing this show of faith (smearing ash on their foreheads). Hard to believe that there weren't any devout Catholics in my public high school.
Maybe this is blasphemous (it wouldn't be the first time), but it seems like Catholics play a lot of games with their religion. As if entrance to heaven is determined by performing certain symbolic gestures and adhering to a set of rules (fish on Fridays?). Window dressing.
Isn't faith supposed to be more than a game? Perhaps my interpretation is trivializing the sincerity of these rituals, but wearing ash on Ash Wednesday is like wearing a sports uniform and letting people know what team you play for. Why blemish your skin (or is that part of the Lent sacrifice), when an air-brushed t-shirt from the mall that reads, "Kickin' Ash and Takin' Names" would spread the same message:
"Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return."Good works, people. Good works.
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