Liturgy Lines

SYMBOLS OF LENT
Three powerful symbols are associated with liturgy in Lent.
Ashes
The use of ashes stems from Christianity’s Jewish heritage. The Hebrew scriptures refer to ashes in a number of different ways. Abraham says of himself: “I am dust and ashes” (Gen 18:27). Job tells his friends: “Your maxims are proverbs of ashes” (Job 13:12). Ashes here suggest humility and human insignificance.
In the book of Numbers, we read that the ashes of a red heifer were used as a purification offering to ritually cleanse the unclean (Num 19:9). Ashes were also used in scripture to express mourning and sorrow. When the city of Nineveh was confronted with its sin the king “covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes” (Jonah 3:6).
The ritual use of ashes was carried over into Christian liturgy. The foreheads of public sinners who entered the “order of penitents” at the beginning of Lent were marked with ashes. This practice extended to the entire community in acknowledgment of the fact that we are all sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. The understanding of ashes as a symbol of humility, purification and sorrow is reflected when we are marked with ashes on the first day of Lent as a sign of our willingness to cleanse our heart through prayer, fasting and self-denial.
Cross
No other sign so clearly symbolises Christianity as the cross. This puzzled many people at the time of the early church because they saw the cross in a totally different light. Crucifixion was the cruelest means used by the Romans to execute criminals; it symbolised hatred, despair, pain and degradation. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead meant that the cross took on a completely new meaning for his followers; it became a symbol of victory over death and salvation from sin.
Besides being a primary symbol of Christianity, the cross is a central object in our liturgy. During Lent the cross leads the procession of psalms on Psalm Sunday, is the focus of Stations of the Cross devotions, and is venerated on Good Friday.
Purple
Purple or violet is the prescribed liturgical colour for Lent. It should be a sombre blue-violet in contrast to the lighter purple of Advent. The aim is to visually evoke a mood of simplicity and austerity, so adding symbols to purple hangings is unnecessary and distracting. The colour is the symbol.
Some may remember when the 4th Sunday of Lent was called Laetare (Rejoice) Sunday and rose coloured vestments were worn. It was one day of rejoicing in the middle of the sombre season of Lent. With our present understanding of Lent, it makes no sense to differentiate the 4th Sunday.
Liturgy planners don’t have to go searching for suitable symbols for Lent. Ashes, cross, purple – they say it all!
Veiling Statues
I am sometimes asked about the practice of veiling statues in Lent. In the past crosses and statues were covered in purple before the 5th Sunday of Lent. The cross was unveiled for veneration on Good Friday and statues were uncovered during the Glory to God at the Easter Vigil. Although the practice was abrogated with the publication of the 1970 sacramentary, it has continued in some places. I would ask, ‘What is the reason for having statues in the church?’ and hence, ‘What is signified by covering them during Lent?’.