February 26, 2010
The Christian Journey
Toward restoring a baptismal spirituality in Lent
BY FATHER JIM SAUER
The custom of receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday did not begin in the Roman Church. The Mozarabic and Gallican liturgies knew the tradition where the bishop smeared the foreheads of public sinners with ashes when they entered the “Order of Penitents,” which occurred when confessing their sins of murder, adultery, or denial of the faith publicly before the Sunday Eucharistic assembly.
Jesuit Father Joseph Jungmann, renowned scholar and liturgical theologian-advisor to the bishops of Vatican II, writes that “The Mass-liturgies of the West are broadly divided into two families: the Roman-African and the Gallic. Although fixed forms were generally preserved, there were in both groups many local differences . . . No complete text of the African Mass has come down to us, but scattered references gives us sufficient grounds for believing that in many points it coincided closely with the Roman. The Gallic liturgies are further subdivided into four chief forms: The Gallican (France/Germany), the Celtic (mine: Irish/Scots), the Old Spanish (Mozarabic/Milanese or Ambrosian.” (The Mass of the Roman Rite, 1959, pgs. 33-34, 47.)
We must understand that other liturgical traditions existed “side-by-side” with the liturgy as the Roman Church celebrated it. These main Church centers borrowed ideas from each other and incorporated them into their liturgies (remember St. Athanasius from Alexandria, Egypt?) “Unity” does not mean “uniformity.” Only since the Council of Trent [1545-1563] did Rome exert more authority over “uniformity” in liturgy to safeguard the Universal Church from the threat of heresy.
It is crucial to remember that throughout her history, the Church’s liturgy has evolved. Not all liturgical changes are worthy to be incorporated into the liturgy because they do not express the presence of the risen Lord or the Church’s faith. However, those human symbols that beautifully and adequately express the risen Lord’s presence and action and our faith response to Him may and do evolve. Receiving ashes on the foreheads by all Christians is a good example of this evolution by Pope Urban II in 1091; the custom previously was reserved only for public sinners. (A modern day example would be restoring the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick from its narrower understanding as “Last Rites.” Just think how many Catholics have experienced the Lord’s healing or His peace from this sacrament.)
When adult baptisms were no longer customary during the Easter Vigil AND when the “Order of Penitents” ceased as a “once-in-a lifetime” reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Church adapted Lent’s meaning to new circumstances. The Church recognized that all Christians are sinners needing continuing conversion. The reception of ashes on Ash Wednesday by all the faithful now made the primary focus of Lent a penitential season to overcome our sins. The penitential practices no longer had any connection with changing our lives (“rising with Christ”) with our baptism and new life in the Risen Christ.
The Lenten baptismal spirituality inviting Christians to examine our lives to see where we need to change our lives over the long haul to become more Christ-like died out. The theology of St. Paul can assist us in recapturing a sound baptismal spirituality of Lent: “Do not let your hearts be transformed by the values of this world. Rather put on the mind and attitude of the Lord Jesus.” Why should we do this? Because Jesus was raised on high and has become the source of eternal life for all who serve him, which we celebrate during the “Mother of all feasts” in the Easter Vigil at the conclusion of Lent.