Thousands receive ashes

Now that Carnival, the season of revelry, is over, thousands of Catholics across the country yesterday observed the start of Lent by attending mass and receiving ashes. Sacred Heart Church on Richmond Street had standing room only as scores of workers used their lunch hour to attend mass. Fr Michael Cockburn, who officiated at the service, told the congregation they were reliving the same experience of the olden days by receiving ashes and  publicly identifying themselves as sinners. He recounted the origin of the ritual of the ashes. In the early Church ashes were a symbol of mourning, humiliation. It was used as a sign of repentance for sin.

When people committed sins, they had to publicly confess. The “big sins” which required public declaration were adultery, publicly rejecting the faith and murder. Cockburn said the penitents’ heads would be covered in ashes and they did penance for 40 days. They also had to wear sack cloth. He said they “looked like vagrants” until Holy Thursday when they returned to Church and absolution was given. The penitent then returned to receiving the sacraments. Today, Cockburn said people receive “polite crosses.” He quip-ped that if the congregation covered their heads with ashes and put on sack cloth, people would say they were still playing Jouvert mud mas. He admonished the congregation not to be ashamed to walk the streets with ashes on their forehead. Cockburn said fasting, almsgiving and prayer are also part of Lent and said, “At Easter we rise with Christ and renew our Baptismal vows.”