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Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulveram reverteris.

Ash Wednesday

As all things come round again, we have come once again to the time of Lent.

A reflection for Ash Wednesday.

As we saw at Christmas, Adam and Eve are, in a sense, a single person, Adam-Eve. Adam represents the higher part of the soul, the nous; Eve, born from his chest, represents the middle and lower parts of the soul. Turning toward material creation in obedience to Desire, the Serpent, the Human Adam-Eve sins. Turning away from the Eternal, the Human Being is trapped in matter, doomed to struggle perpetually with Desire, to die and return to dust, and return to life again.

Repenting, purifying, turning again toward Eternal things over the long course of the Earthly sojourn, the Human Being is born now as Mary, sinless (Immaculate) and unencumbered by desire (Virgin). As Adam brought forth Eve from his chest, so Mary brings forth Christ from her womb, signifying that the soul is now purified unto its lowest parts, and now turns only toward eternal things. Before the nous was masculine, which is to say, active; now the nous becomes female, receptive to the will of God. The Desire, signified in the body by the lower dantien, is altogether purified and turned toward the higher.

Now, at the beginning of Lent, the adult Christ is the New Adam, the restored humanity, beginning the process by which the chains of matter will be overcome, and mankind restored to the Eternal.

Ashes, Again

In the ritual of Ash Wednesday, consecrated ashes are placed over the Third Eye of the initiate. This is done on a day of fasting and abstinence, which begins a season of fasting, repentance, and atonement for sin. The activation of the third eye, the abstinence from flesh and from wine all serve to withdraw the initiate from the material. To repent (metanoia) is to purify the nous and unite the inner will with the Eternal Will of God. To atone for sin means to gather the dis-united parts of the self and bring the whole soul under the command of the nous, itself aware of and united to the Will of God.

The initiate, addressed as homo, "human," is reminded that he is dust. What is dust? The human, and everything pertaining to it. The body and the possessions. But also the desires, the habits, the preferences, the thoughts-- all are dust. Only the divine is immortal, and only that within us which participate in the divine can be immortal. Everything else is dust and ashes. The old human was Adam, who died, and descended into the Earth, which is to say, into the material body. The new human is Christ, who will die and be reborn, overcoming death by death. We have all been Adam and Eve. In the Mysteries of Christmas we become Mary, and bring forth the Christ-Child. Now we must become Christ, and follow Him on the road to Calvary. It is not an easy road, but at the end of it is the resurrection, and life eternal.

The ashes, placed on the forehead, are made from the burned fronds of last year's palms. The palms, we recall, were laid at the feet of Christ, will be laid at the feet of Christ, as he enters into Jerusalem. Alive then, they are now ashes, and this year there will be new palms, and next year, new ashes. Thus the cycle continues. As the palms are burned year after year, so many will strive this year, which is to say, this lifetime, and fall short. They will burn, and then they will try again, and again, and again, unto the ending of the age. Until all are saved from the fire.

Meménto, homo, quia pulvis es, et in púlverem revertéris.

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday marks the official beginning of Lent. The great tradition of Ash Wednesday is, of course, its namesake, the ashes placed on either the crown or the forehead.

In the traditional rite, the ashes are blessed by a series of 5 prayers. The first reads as follows:

Almighty and everlasting God, spare those who are penitent, be merciful to those who implore Thee; and vouchsafe to send Thy holy Angel from Heaven, to bless + and sanctif+fy these ashes, that they may be a wholesome remedy to all who humbly implore Thy holy Name, and who accuse themselves, conscious of their sins, deploring their misdeeds before Thy divine mercy, or humbly and earnestly beseeching Thy sovereign goodness; and grant through the invocation of Thy most holy Name that whosoever shall be sprinkled with them for the remission of their sins may receive both the health of the body and safety of the soul. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

The prayers conclude:

Grant us, O Lord, to begin with holy fasts the campaign of our Christian warfare: that, as we do battle with the spirits of evil, we may be protected by the help of self-denial. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Ashes are then placed on the forehead or on the crown, with the words:

Meménto, homo, quia pulvis es, et in púlverem revertéris

Remember, man, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return.

Lenten Magic

What we have is a magic ritual of some power. First, ashes are prepared, and these are made from the palm fronds blessed on the previous palm Sunday. Thus the years are linked to one another, and the triumph that will come at Palm Sunday linked to the crucifixion that will follow it. The priest summons an angel to bless the ashes, turning them into remedies for both body and soul. The faithful are blessed by the ashes with a prayer that they specifically be given the power of self-denial in order to combat evil spirits. They are reminded that they are dust and to dust they will return.

Each component of this rite would yield a great deal to meditation.

Let's talk a bit about dust.

Genesis 2:7 tells us:

The Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth. He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.

In these two sentences we see the whole anatomy of the human being.

We start with God, who, as we know, is Being Itself; the first term is existence.

Next comes the form, which God holds in his mind.

The form is impressed onto the dust.

And the breath enters in from God himself, bringing life.

God is being; the form is spirit; the breath is soul; the dust is matter.

Matter itself is without form and without life. Moreover, the lowest parts of us, the passions that we share with all animal life, arise from the body, and are thus closest to matter and entangle us with matter, which is merely dust. By remembering that we are dust, we remember three things:

First, our bodies are dust, and the cravings, attachments, pains, pleasures and everything we seem to "need" which arise from them are also mere dust.

Second, the dust itself, utterly formless, is still sustained in its very being by God, as is everything in the universe; underneath the dust, as it were, is God-- and so God is at the root of our being. Too often we confuse our innermost nature, seeing dust where we should see divinity; let us look past the dust to That which is beyond. In doing so, we gain the ability to do battle with the evil spirits, who use our lower nature to delude us, but have no power over higher things.

Third, even as dust, the lowliest thing, is not deprived of the presence of God; even as, remembering that we are dust, we remember that we are of God; so may we remember that by humility we will triumph, whereas by Pride we will be cast down. For

He hath shewed strength with his arm.
He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their hearts;
He hath put down the mighty from their seat

and hath exalted the humble and meek.

A blessed Lent to one and all.

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