At one point, the mark of the ash was a definitive sign distinguishing Protestants and Catholics, but that is no longer the case. John Calvin said that the season of Lent was merely “false zeal” and “replete with superstition.” And yet now, only a few centuries later, many of the children of the Reformation-Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, nondenominational evangelicals, and even Presbyterian and Reformed-have been incorporating this ritual into their own piety and practice. What is surprising, however, is the rise in popularity over the past few decades of Ash Wednesday observance among Protestants. After all, this has been the Roman Catholic tradition for well over a thousand years. It should surprise no one at this point to see a neighbor, co-worker, or newscaster adorned with ashes. This practice, known as Ash Wednesday, kicks off the forty-day Lenten season of fasting and penance which leads up to the celebration of Easter. This coming February 26, the world will see literally millions of practicing Roman Catholics emerge from Mass with a smudge of cruciform ash upon their foreheads.
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