At our Ash Wednesday Mass yesterday I couldn't help but notice that some children were given ashes and others were not. Neither Maria nor Amelia received them, but a little girl Amelia's age who was sitting in a different section of the church did. I saw one mom take her children back through the line in one of the wings of the church after her three year old twins did not receive ashes from the center line.
Now I've consulted with a few people (and the EWTN Q & A page) and it seems that anyone, even the unbaptized can receive ashes. So this left me wondering if maybe I should have done as that other mother and taken Maria and Amelia back through to receive ashes. Then I went to the Vatican Website and found this:
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, Part Two, Chapter IV:
125. In the Roman Rite, the beginning of the forty days of penance is marked with the austere symbol of ashes which are used in the Liturgy of Ash Wednesday. The use of ashes is a survival from an ancient rite according to which converted sinners submitted themselves to canonical penance. The act of putting on ashes symbolizes fragility and mortality, and the need to be redeemed by the mercy of God. Far from being a merely external act, the Church has retained the use of ashes to symbolize that attitude of internal penance to which all the baptized are called during Lent. The faithful who come to receive ashes should be assisted in perceiving the implicit internal significance of this act, which disposes them towards conversion and renewed Easter commitment. (italics added)
That last sentence struck me. While I think that I might be able to bring Maria to some understanding of what the ashes mean, Amelia would have no clue. So now my question is this, while children can receive ashes should they and if so at what age? Should you wait until they reach the age of reason? Or just until they have some basic understanding of what the ashes mean?
Anyone have any thoughts on the matter?
2 comments:
I guess I view it as an outward sacramental, so I don't think it's a matter of "should" they receive ashes. For D, I was hoping he would because he seems to get the idea of it and frankly he was looking forward to experiencing it. But when the priest didn't give him any, I just told him the priest decided he's not old enough and it's something he can look forward to later on. So my feeling is if young children get it, fine, if not, fine too. But even if they don't get it, they can still be taught all about them at their level.
I think for young kids the parents need to assess whether or not it is appropriate. Same goes with any other sacramental. The value of sacramentals depends on the disposition of the person (ex opere operantis), so while there may be nothing legally wrong with an infant receiving ashes, there isn't much value in it if they can't comprehend what's going on. It really comes down to whether the parents think the child is ready to receive them.
I have to question whether it's proper for the minister to deny ashes to young children. I think kids a lot younger than the age of reason can understand the meaning of ashes and appreciate them at least in part. Any child whose ever spent time in the corner (or gotten a well-deserved whippin' ;-) ) knows the difference between good and bad behavior, and assuming the parents are making some attempt at teaching right and wrong, can understand that this is a day we set aside to say we're sorry for all the times we've midbehaved. Sure, they're not ready for Confession yet, but contrition is an essential element of the sacrament, so teach them early, I say.
So, if the parents think the child is ready, then I say let the child receive them. I'll be entirely optimistic and assume all those parents were were line-jumping to get their kids smeared were doing so because they knew their children were well-disposed and properly catechised before receiving.....
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