The day long awaited and dreaded is upon us. At the stroke of midnight, the noise and fury of Carnival comes to an abrupt end. “The Bridegroom cometh! Go ye forth to meet Him!” (Matt. 25:6). What Bridegroom is this, whose Bride greats Him not with feasting, but with fasting, not with cries of joy but cries of lamentation, not by standing tall with open arms, but on her knees, hands clasped together and begging for mercy?
Only a little over a month ago, Holy Church gave us the festival of the Epiphany, reveling in three great events in which Our Lord, the Only-Begotten Son of God, Divine Logos, and Eternal Word made Flesh manifested Himself to the World: The Adoration of the Magi, the Baptism at the Jordon, and the Miracle at the Wedding Feast at Cana. But now, having basked in the glory and loving-kindness of Jesus Christ, the liturgy completes it’s turn towards our fallen state that it began at Septuagesima.
It is not a pretty sight. But it is necessary to gaze upon the horror and misery of the Old Adam if we are to be received into the New Adam. Indeed, this was one of the original purposes of Lent: to prepare the catechumens, by prayer, fasting, and instruction, for the sacrament of Baptism. In prior ages, the catechumens were set apart from those who had been baptized; they were only allowed to stay for the first part of the Mass (known traditionally as the Mass of the Catechumens). After the recitation of the Creed, they were dismissed; only the baptized were allowed to witness and partake of the most Sublime of All Mysteries: the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
But on this day, there is another group who will be separated from the faithful: the Penitents. Those who had committed grievous, public sins were not only marked with blessed ashes, but clothed in blessed sackcloth, after which they were escorted out of the Church while the choir chanted the seven penitential psalms. They would not be allowed back inside the church until Holy Thursday. Until then, while the faithful and the catechumens were worshiping at Mass, the penitents would be outside the Church, wearing their garments of shame, mindful of what they had forfeited by their sins.
Perhaps so many Catholics in positions of power would not dare flaunt the teachings of the Church if this tradition were restored. In any case, this three-fold division of the faithful is not readily apparent today. Since the High Middle Ages, all the faithful receive ashes on this day, and even those who are not baptized are allowed to witness the Mass in its entirety. Nevertheless, we should try to keep this partition of the Church in mind, not only today, but throughout all of Lent, that we might more deeply contemplate the graces we have been given. For this three-fold division of God’s people perfectly parallels the three-fold triumph of Christ at His Epiphany, as well as the Divine Office’s meditation on the first Three Patriarchs. Like Adam, the penitents are cast out of paradise, but Our Lord follows them into the wilderness, as He followed the Spirit into the desert after His Baptism in the Jordan. Like Noah, the catechumens look forward to salvation by water, for they, like the Magi, have seen the signs of Christ’s divinity and have come from afar off to worship Him. Like Abraham, the faithful have entered into an everlasting covenant with God, and though they must fast in reparation, they still sit with the Lord at the Wedding Feast, where he turns Wine into His Most Precious Blood.
Furthermore, Wednesday itself, in addition to being the day the Sun, Moon, stars and planets were created, also has a three-fold mystery. For, according to tradition, it was on Wednesday that Our Lord became incarnate of the Virgin Mary. It was on Wednesday that Our Lord was born in the stable at Bethlehem. And it was on Wednesday that the traitor Judas met with the Sanhedrin, agreeing to betray Our Lord for a mere thirty pieces of silver. This also parallels this day’s division of the faithful: the penitents, like Judas, have betrayed Christ for a worthless reward, and do penance that they might not share his fate. The Catechumen’s perceive the Word made Flesh, but they do not see Him yet; to them, He is concealed by Mother Church as He was concealed in Mary’s womb. But the Faithful are at Bethlehem with the shepherds and the angels, and they see Him whom their heart has desired.
With these reflections in mind, let us endeavor, as far as we are able, to approach this Lent as Penitent, Catechumen, and Faithful. Let us remember and show sorrow for our sins, remember and renew our commitment to the promises we made at our Baptism, and lets us strive for greater perfection with the aid of the Sacraments. For whatever good we do and evil we endure our not for ourselves only, but for the entire mystical Body of Christ. As the priest prays today after distributing the ashes:
“Grant us, O Lord, to begin our Christian Warfare with holy fasts; that as we are about to do battle with the spirits of evil we may be defended by the spirit of self-denial.”
Fight on, Christian soldiers, and may our fasting, prayer and almsgiving save this world, in and through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
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