Thoughts on Ash Wednesday
Whispers in the Loggia talks about The (Ash) Capital of the World. Truly, if you've not seen this phenomenon it can be striking. I used to work two stops from St. Pats and it was the natural choice for ashes as they are a well oiled machine. They have multiple concurrent streams of clergy administering ashes. The tone of the line was always interesting. The further to the end of the line you were, the more jovial and relaxed things were. The closer to the front you were, the more somber and reverent. I worked in Gotham for a few years and it was very common to have an office full of people wearing ashes.
Then I moved to Charlotte.
There was a tiny chapel in the center of the city call it the Trinity Church of Charlotte. (Couldn't remember the name but after Googling, it's St. Peter's!)
I went to get ashes at lunchtime. It was a quick affair as I went late (for lunch). I got back to my office and the woman I worked with is looking at my head like she wants to say something but being the genteel southern lady, she doesn't quite know how to say it. Finally, she meekly says, "You have a little some thin' on your forehead."
"Yes" I say, "it's Ashes"
"Is that a Jewish thing?"
I laugh and she turns beat read and starts to apologize. I explain that it's a Catholic thing.
As part of my job, I frequently had to go from one building to another and one floor to another. That's when things got interesting. I never knew how many people I worked with were Catholic. Being in a very small minority in a city like Charlotte, it was like being a member of a club with a secret roster that was suddenly made public. After that, people would regularly ask me which parish I was attending and other Catholic related questions. Very strange when coming from a place like NYC where you could swing a dead cat in any borough and hit 20 Catholics.
Then I moved to Charlotte.
There was a tiny chapel in the center of the city call it the Trinity Church of Charlotte. (Couldn't remember the name but after Googling, it's St. Peter's!)
I went to get ashes at lunchtime. It was a quick affair as I went late (for lunch). I got back to my office and the woman I worked with is looking at my head like she wants to say something but being the genteel southern lady, she doesn't quite know how to say it. Finally, she meekly says, "You have a little some thin' on your forehead."
"Yes" I say, "it's Ashes"
"Is that a Jewish thing?"
I laugh and she turns beat read and starts to apologize. I explain that it's a Catholic thing.
As part of my job, I frequently had to go from one building to another and one floor to another. That's when things got interesting. I never knew how many people I worked with were Catholic. Being in a very small minority in a city like Charlotte, it was like being a member of a club with a secret roster that was suddenly made public. After that, people would regularly ask me which parish I was attending and other Catholic related questions. Very strange when coming from a place like NYC where you could swing a dead cat in any borough and hit 20 Catholics.
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