MORGANTOWN — March 6 will literally be marked by faith in Morgantown and elsewhere on the globe.
That’s because it’s Ash Wednesday, the spiritual launch of Lent and its 40-day journey to Easter, the day believers say Christ was resurrected following his death on a cross.
“Lent,” which comes from the Anglo-Saxon word, lencten, means “spring.” Its 40 days are how long Christ spent in the desert, shaping the ministry that would endure despite his earthly death.
No matter how you pronounce it, WVU senior Alex Moryan said the day before, the span is spiritually significant.
Which is why Moryan, a devout Catholic and petroleum engineering major from Cleveland, will line up to do something he’s done on this day for as long as he can remember.
He’ll patiently wait his turn to have his faith marked in a visually compelling way — via the ashes smeared onto his forehead in the sign of a cross.
Then, he’ll consider the things he’s giving up for Lent, since the season is also about sacrifice.
In today’s world, that usually means eschewing creature comforts such as cigarettes or alcohol.
Or, the things that are generally perceived to be “bad” for you.
But as the Rev. Msgr. Anthony Cincinnati of St. Francis de Sales Church said previously, it’s also about the good that Christ gave up, in the form of his very life.
The ashes priests will apply to foreheads today are the remnants of palm fronds burned during Palm Sunday services the year before.
Palm Sunday is the day Christ was met by many residents of Jerusalem as he entered their city. They waved palms as he passed by.
He was first heralded a hero, but would later die by crucifixion.
The ashes, which are mixed with Holy Water, aren’t just reminders of one’s mortality, Cincinnati said.
They also, he said, tell us to be faithful and humble — in Lent and in life.
“Those 40 days are only fruitful if those ashes go straight to the recesses of our heart,” he said.
For Moryan, those ashes also mean resilience.
Especially, he said, in the wake of the sex abuse scandals currently roiling the Catholic Church worldwide.
He has faith, he said, that divine direction will eventually right human failings.
“The Holy Spirit, in time, will heal the Church,” he said.
Twitter @DominionPostWV
JBissett@DominionPost.com
