Out Of The Ashes
(AP)
Another reminder is the Christian calendar. Today is Ash Wednesday -- for Christians around the world, the beginning of the pentitential season of Lent (the 40 days leading up to Easter). So here's a little T.S. Eliot for you, from his epic poem Ash-Wednesday:
Pray to God to have mercy upon usThe poem, we're told, is a long and elegantly crafted meditation on Eliot's conversion to the Anglican Church in the 1920s.
And pray that I may forget
These matters that with myself I too much discuss
Too much explain
Because I do not hope to turn again
Let these words answer
For what is done, not to be done again
May the judgment not be too heavy upon us
Because these wings are no longer wings to fly
But merely vans to beat the air
The air which is now thoroughly small and dry
Smaller and dryer than the will
Teach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still.
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.
These days, Ash Wednesday is notable as the one day in the year when churches are absolutely packed. It's a phenomenon no one can quite explain. But for some reason, Christians of all stripes, from the passive to the pious, just have to get ashes.
Here at CBS, your humble editor continued that tradition; I set up shop in one of the offices upstairs and invited those interested to come up and get smudged. (Frankly, I felt like a barber, waiting for customers...) About a dozen people wandered in -- including the President of CBS News and CBS Sports, Sean McManus -- and all walked away with the burnt marking on their brows.
It's a gesture that is being repeated around the world this day, in chapels and schoolrooms and basilicas and thatched huts, as countless millions come forward to present themselves to be marked -- and, perhaps, transformed. After the glitter of Mardi Gras comes the grit of this Wednesday ritual. Each of us becomes a kind of burnt offering, and hears anew the words of the minister as we are stained: "Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return."
It's not something you hear every day -- or think about every day. Which may be one more reason why this particular holy day exerts such a primal pull on so many of us.
...The majority of [dust] comes from just two
sources: people -- exfoliated skin and hair;
and meteorites -- disintegrated as they hit
the earth's atmosphere.(No kidding -- it's
true -- ton's of it fall every day.) So, in
other words, what's behind my bed and bookcase
and dresser and chest is mostly me and
stardust ...
We are the [dust] of stars. And there behind
my desk, I seem to be returning to my source,
in a quiet way. Recombining with the Stuff of
the universe into who-knows-what...
"Churches are packed?" On what factual basis are you making this statement? Are you just making this stuff up?
Ask anyone who attends Ash Wednesday services and they'll tell you: yep, the churches are crowded with congregants. It's like Christmas and Easter rolled into one.
Greg Kandra
Editor, "Couric & Co."
I bet you think you're one of those tolerant types, don'tcha?
Yes...it's so reprehensible and unforgiveable for human people who have faith to dare give witness to it in the secular world.
Remind me, I keep forgetting - who are the oppressive types, again?
Oh, yeah. They must be the ones who throw pies at speakers, shout down invited debaters and mouth pieties about "freedom of expression" while trying to shut down any expression they don't like.
Which is, in fact...reprehensible.
But thankfully everything is forgiveable.
Your post really disappointed me. As a Catholic person I have attended Ash Wednesday for a long time - partly because this is a tradition from my family and partly as personal signal that Lent was starting.
But your comment..
"Here at CBS, your humble editor continued that tradition; I set up shop in one of the offices upstairs and invited those interested to come up and get smudged. (Frankly, I felt like a barber, waiting for customers...) About a dozen people wandered in -- including the President of CBS News and CBS Sports, Sean McManus -- and all walked away with the burnt marking on their brows."
Why is our religious tradition a joke for you. I will take any bet that as people came up for you to "smudge" them you laughed and joked around. Are the traditions of Judaism or Islam something that you mock in the newsroom as well?
For many Catholics and other religious people Ash Wednesday means something special - but based on your post it is something to mock. It is one thing to laugh at our tradition in your newsroom - it is another to announce it on your blog.
I am disappointed in the post and the CBS News organization for mocking my faith.
Not what I used to believe CBS News stood for.
I read your blog.
I also read your bio, which is linked to your blog.
You claim to be not only a Catholic but on the verge of recognition as a Catholic Deacon. I presume you listed this as an accomplishment of which you are proud. You also claim to be a journalist, and indeed are a leading journalist at CBS.
Your article is an embarrassment, to even a one with a high school education and the most remedial research tools.
As an esteemed member of the media elite, and moreover as a Catholic leader, it is unforgivable.
Do you have any idea what Ash Wednesday represents? If so, why do you refer to your role as like a barber?
Get a clue.
Lead, follow or get out of the way.
It is true, these haters would not dare disparage Muslims because that would not be politically correct.
I have to say that I have read your post with a mix of revulsion and pity. The revulsion comes from the fact that as someone who is on the verge of becoming a Catholic Deacon your words appear to make light of what is one of the holiest seasons of the year. Those "smudges" you dismissively address just so happen to be the sign of the cross, for a Christian, the sign of the ulitmate sacrifice which God made for our redemption. Perhaps sir, you would have been at the foot of the cross admonishing Jesus to "save himself as he had saved others. I am wondering if your Catholic education which thinks of Ash Wednesday as the administration of "smudges", realizes that this is an outward sign of our repentance and preparation for the holiest of days, Easter.
My pity, comes from the fact that posts like this tend to divert people from the real meaning of the season. Sir, I believe before you become a deacon you need to examine what your beliefs are. If you believe that this symbol is nothing but "smudges and burnt markings", then I hope you reconsider your "calling". Remember the the sin that will not be forgiven, is the sin against the Holy Spirit. I will pray for you this season.
I spoke to one of the priest after the service and he said that it is very difficult to work with the ashes. %u201CNo matter how hard we try we usually end up with smudges%u201D. Next year he promised to buy our ash supply from a vendor that provides very fine ash that will allow us to avoid the smudges. (TO BE CONTINUED)
On a personal note - I've known Greg for almost five years now. I know no man that is truer to his faith and the teachings of the Catholic Church. His spirituality has had a remarkable influence on me and many of our classmates. Ordination will take place in May of this year. At the end of the ceremony each new deacon will receive his assignment from the bishop. There are 216 parishes in our diocese and less than 60 men will be ordained therefore not every parish in the diocese will receive the gift of a deacon being assigned to them. I know that the parish that receives the newly ordained Deacon Greg will be receiving a very special gift. I know I treasure his friendship and because of his influence I feel not only will I be a better deacon more importantly I have become a better Catholic. Thank you Greg!
I've known Greg for almost ten years. I'd put his faithfulness, his humanity, his humility, his devoutness, his OBEDIENCE and his utter love for God and Church against yours any single day of the week. And twice on Sundays. You don't even know him. If you did, you'd be ashamed.
Rather than respond with such hostility, consider that we Catholics are subjected to misrepresentation and outright mockery and disdain of our faith in the media. The mark on our foreheads are an outward sign of our humility to God and of our intent to be better people. It is a witness to our fellow community of Christians, not a source of prideful boasting. Trust me, the odd stares in public can be discomforting.
Peace.
"See how these Christians love one another." The ones who aren't name-calling are busy whining about how mean the world treats them.
I'm a Catholic who wonders how or why the fact that there are people who mock Catholics & Catholicism gives anyone an excuse to jump ugly.
The world treats us badly? Well, that's exactly what Christ promised us. What are you complaining about? IT'S WHAT YOU SIGNED ON FOR! I don't think Christ warned us about it so we could sit around being offended or scanning each other with fine-tooth combs to see if we're perfect enough. That's God's job, anyway. (cont.)
I won't apologize for defending Kandra nor for losing my temper. Whimpering Catholics/tiresome scolds who get caught up in the fleeting moment or look for chances to harangue are not what we're supposed to be about. Our formation and our faith has trained us to look beyond the stupid prickles of a day, to eternity.
The church needs fewer sensitive plants who swoon or bristle at the slightest heat, and a few more mystics who know that 1/2 of what is before us is an illusion & the other 1/2 the devil's merriment. He loves when we freak out over every little thing - keeps us distracted, disengaged, angry & judgemental. Which keeps us from prayer and interior silence.
Indulging oneself in a poem instead of calling others names might better serve both God and man that's all I'm saying.
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by gregkandra
February 23, 2007 2:13 PM PST
- A couple thoughts.
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Reply to this comment
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See all 21 CommentsI would invite those Catholics who are tsk-tsking about my post to hunt around elsewhere for someone else in the mainstream media who is writing about faith with any sort of seriousness. Good luck. (And, if you read my post you will see that my treatment of this day was eminently serious -- and far from irreligious.)
Those who are appalled that ashes were given out at CBS should visit their local police precinct, firehouse or hospital on Ash Wednesday. You'll see the same thing. People have been giving out ashes in the workplace for years. (Cardinal O'Connor even began the practice of sending an armada of priests into the New York subways and train stations to offer ashes to commuters -- a tradition that continues to this day.)
It's a big Church. And a big blogosphere. I'm blessed to be a part of both, and grateful to have so many readers who feel so strongly about this. Keep reading. And have a good Lent, everyone.
Greg Kandra
Editor, "Couric & Co."