One of the basic components of Renew My Church is creating what are called “soft entry points.”  How do we offer people who stopped participating in church years ago or who were never raised without religious faith the opportunity to connect with our church? In the past the Catholic Church has used slogans like “Come Home for Christmas” or encouraged parishioners to invite a friend or neighbor to join them at Mass. While these efforts are effective with some people, by themselves they do not address all the needs of the alienated or unchurched. The meaning of the Mass is not easily grasped by outsiders attending for the first time (and, unfortunately, by too many insiders who have been attending for years). Many people whose only knowledge of the Catholic Church comes from the internet are likely to have many questions—not only about the Church but about faith in general. As a result, many parishes in the Archdiocese have adopted one of the video/discussion courses like Alpha. Alpha raises basic questions about God and faith, but allows participants to come up with an answer themselves. No one is told that they are right or wrong, but are encouraged to continue to explore the basic questions of life. That journey might lead them to RCIA (if they are not Catholic) or to a process of reconciliation with the church. Other examples of soft entry points are Open Houses and events like the Blessing of Pets (which has drawn pet owners in the neighborhood who are not members of the church).

While all of those soft entry points are important, we should not overlook the original soft entry point, Ash Wednesday. Every year on Ash Wednesday, in addition to three well-attended Masses, we distribute ashes in the Parish Hall for a total of six hours. A brief prayer is said and ashes are placed on the forehead. Some people remain to pray for a few moments, while others head immediately out the door. While there is rarely a long line waiting for ashes, there are very few opportunities for the ash minister to sit down! Some churches have ministers distributing ashes on the street corner or at el stations. On Ash Wednesday I see hundreds of people I never see any other time of the year. Granted many of these people are in the neighborhood for work and may attend another church on Sunday; but that does not account for all the people who appear. For those who come to church only on Ash Wednesday and only for a little while, it is a way of affirming that they are still part of the Body of Christ. Like the woman in the Gospel, I may be just barely touching Christ’s garment, but I am still connected to Christ. To receive ashes, one does not have to be Catholic or Christian; one does not have to be in the state of grace; one does not have to have been to confession or communion in years; one does not have to even believe in God.  Ashes touch us at the most basic level of life. Ashes remind us that one day we will die and ashes remind us that we have not lived up to our potential as a human being. A person receiving ashes may not be motivated by religious reasons at all. It is enough to believe that I want my life to count for more and that I want to be a better human being to other human beings.

Contrary to what many people think, Ash Wednesday is not a holyday and it is not even an important feast on the church calendar. Clearly, though, Ash Wednesday means a lot not only to Catholics but to humanity in general. People have rung the doorbell well into the night, in a panic because they did not receive ashes. The great regret is that there is rarely any follow-up to Ash Wednesday. Although many people pick up meditation books and flyers about Lenten events while they are here, mostly we do not see again until the next Ash Wednesday. The soft entry point remains just an entry point.

We churchy folks know that Ash Wednesday is meant to be the beginning of a journey of prayer, penance, and almsgiving, leading us to Easter, and then on to Pentecost. Sharing the rest of this spiritual journey with more of the Ash Wednesday Only Catholics is surely one of the goals of Renew My Church. How do we draw a connection between the instinctive call to transformation they feel on Ash Wednesday and what a relationship with Christ and the sacraments can offer them in the long run? In the meantime, let us be grateful that so many people still come to church on Ash Wednesday, after all the scandals, the billions of dollars spent advertising surface answers to life’s deepest longings, and the many commentators who tell us that faith is only for the foolish. Pray for them on Ash Wednesday, and if you see someone unfamiliar sitting next to you at Mass, please greet them and make them feel welcome.

                                                                      Fr. Joe