Christians in metro Detroit might celebrate the love in their lives a little differently this Valentine’s Day.
Ash Wednesday is, after all, a day rooted in love, local clergy said of the events coinciding with February 14.
“Valentine’s Day is obviously about love,” said the Rev. Mario Amore of St. Aloysius, a Catholic church in downtown Detroit. “But so does Ash Wednesday, just like the season of Lent. It is about recognizing God’s love in our lives and all the opportunities he gives us to encounter his mercy.
Catholics center their celebration of Ash Wednesday on returning to God at the start of Lent, a 40-day period before Easter, which falls on March 31 this year. This season marks a time of spiritual preparation for a renewal of faith in the spring, Amore said.
Many Catholics associate this season with fasting, a practice of abstaining from certain foods, habits or activities starting on Ash Wednesday in order to unite more closely with God, he explained.
For some people, that might mean giving up Valentine’s Day chocolates.
“Do I say, ‘Happy Ash Wednesday,’ or do I say, ‘Happy Valentine’s Day?’ » said Beth Allison, 36, as she waited for Ash Wednesday Mass in St. Louis to begin. “It’s just another way for us to participate in sacrifice.” We usually eat sweets and things like that on Valentine’s Day, and it’s just a reminder that we’re in a time of penance and it’s okay to sacrifice.
The St. Clair Shores resident, who also serves as director of mission and parish operations at St. Aloysius, planned her Valentine’s Day get-together with friends based on her decision to eat just one meal Wednesday, she said.
Although fasting may pose a challenge for some, the concurrency of the two dates is not unprecedented, Amore said.
“I actually think, and others have said this as well, that it’s really beautiful that Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day fall on the same day,” he said.
People celebrating Valentine’s Day might honor their loved ones with roses or chocolates. Christians observing Ash Wednesday will wear that love more visibly on their foreheads with the ash crosses they wear, said the Rev. Chris Yaw of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Southfield.
Part of the Ash Wednesday observances involves marking parishioners’ foreheads with ash in the shape of a cross, Rev. Yaw said. The ash cross, formed with the ashes of palm fronds from previous Palm Sundays, is a symbol for themes such as repentance, mortality and humility, he said.
Carrying the cross offers Christians an opportunity to reflect on how they want to embrace spiritual and daily changes over the next 40 days, he said.
“I think we are full of regrets,” Yaw said. “We have things we said that we wish we didn’t say, things we did that we wish we didn’t do, and we’re looking for a way to say that I’m sorry. On Ash Wednesday we can do that.
St. David’s Episcopal Church took a unique approach to spreading the Ash Wednesday message by creating a drive-thru ash distribution site about nine years ago, he said.
The church has continued the tradition for nearly a decade, operating a faster distribution site in its parking lot off 12 Mile Road so visitors can receive the ashes and entrust themselves to a clergy member or volunteer. church, Yaw said.
Most of the drive-thru participants are not regular members of St. David’s, he said. These include delivery drivers, elderly residents who live nearby and busy families all looking to connect, no matter how long they’ve been away from church or practicing the faith, said Yaw.
“I think this year things have gotten scarier, maybe even accelerated compared to last year,” he said. “People will bring that to their faith and hopefully to our driveway, where we hope to offer some words of assurance, comfort and acceptance.”
Catholics model their Lenten observance around fasting, prayer and almsgiving, embodying the latter practice through concrete efforts such as offering food and supplies to the homeless, Amore said.
Praying for peace at home and abroad can also be part of this effort, he added.
“We are in union with those who suffer and we offer these sufferings, our sufferings, even in the smallest way,” Amore said. “We are not experiencing here what our brothers and sisters in the Middle East are facing. But this sacrifice and this union of sacrifice makes a difference at least spiritually.
Natalia Guerra, 26, is reconnecting with her Catholic faith as part of her search for community this Ash Wednesday, she said.
Guerra said the day took on new meaning for her since it was the first time in recent years that she was able to attend midday mass. Beyond her Lenten fast with candy, Guerra hoped to settle in at St. Aloysius after attending for the first time Wednesday, she said.
“I’m trying to start again,” she said, settling back into her pew as the service began.
