Are people supposed to wear purple on Ash Wednesday?

[shirleytowers]

A friend at work wore all purple today. She said you were supposed to wear purple on Ash Wednesday. I hadn’t ever heard of such a thing. Anybody heard this? Is it maybe a cultural thing? Is she trying to start a trend?? Just nutty?

 

[puzzleannie]

the only one who has to wear purple today is the priest, and that only for his vestments at Mass. I did wear purple by chance because that was my clean shirt, pretty good as I ended up distributing ashes. line was around the block at most of the services, people still pounding on the door at 9:00 when we were locking up. very nice service for the youth with liturgy of the Word within evening prayer, very proper and kids are learning loth quite well.

 

[shirleytowers]

Thanks, Annie. That is kinda what I thought.

I notice that Ash Wednesday is very popular with the cafeteria Catholics. So is Palm Sunday. Is it the free stuff? Maybe we should have giveaways like the baseball teams do…they have Free Bat Day, Free Hat Week, Free Frisbee Friday at the ball park. We could have Holy Card Sunday, Votive Candle Sunday, …

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Something else that is interesting is that quite a few Protestant Churches are adding “Ash Wednesday” services. Looks like people are intrigued by “smells and bells”. The concrete symbolism, perhaps?

As for purple (violet), it’s the vestment color for the priests for most days in Lent, although today, for example, the vestment color is white, since today is the feast of the chair of St. Peter.

 

[tee_eff_em]

Something else that is interesting is that quite a few Protestant Churches are adding “Ash Wednesday” services. Looks like people are intrigued by “smells and bells”. The concrete symbolism, perhaps?

Just beware of the Baptists – They do full-immersion imposition of ashes.

tee

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Just beware of the Baptists – They do full-immersion imposition of ashes

 

[revejj2000]

Thanks, Annie. That is kinda what I thought.

I notice that Ash Wednesday is very popular with the cafeteria Catholics. So is Palm Sunday. Is it the free stuff? Maybe we should have giveaways like the baseball teams do…they have Free Bat Day, Free Hat Week, Free Frisbee Friday at the ball park. We could have Holy Card Sunday, Votive Candle Sunday, …

And yet we do give something “free” to everyone who is eligible to receive this “free gift”: it is the Eucharist, Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

Let us pray for our brothers and sisters who seek only sacramentals (ashes, blessed palms, etc.) instead of the Sacraments (Eucharist, Penance, etc.) and to use the sacramentals to guide us to the Sacraments.

Fr. Bro.

 

[homewardbound]

Just beware of the Baptists – They do full-immersion imposition of ashes.

tee

I wish! That would be quite entertaining

I was raised Baptist and never celebrated Ash Wednesday until yesterday.

 

[lizaanne]

My ex-fiancé was Evangelical Protestant and would always go to Ash Wednesday with me and receive ashes. He also preferred my Catholic Church for all the “big” holidays to his Willow Creek place of worship. I said that we know how to be reverent and he appreciated that. Too bad he never “got” the rest of it.

~Liza

 

[BlestOne]

Just to warm your hearts…
My 17 yo son called me yesterday at work to ask what time mass was so he could call 2 of his Protestant friends that asked him to find out because they wanted to go. Ummm…
Protestant highschoolers wanting to go to Catholic mass…
Awesome!!!

 

[Rand_Al_Thor]

Just to warm your hearts…
My 17 yo son called me yesterday at work to ask what time mass was so he could call 2 of his Protestant friends that asked him to find out because they wanted to go. Ummm…
Protestant highschoolers wanting to go to Catholic mass…
Awesome!!!

Pax tecum!

That’s great! Looks like you’ve taught your son well!

In Christ,
Rand

 

[cecilia97]

Something else that is interesting is that quite a few Protestant Churches are adding “Ash Wednesday” services. Looks like people are intrigued by “smells and bells”. The concrete symbolism, perhaps?

A Methodist friend told me the other day that they were doing a service for Ash Wednesday. This is pretty new at their church. I thought “Er?”. They don’t really do much else special for Lent, but it’s nice to see.

 

[Cranch]

…I notice that Ash Wednesday is very popular with the cafeteria Catholics. So is Palm Sunday. Is it the free stuff? Maybe we should have giveaways like the baseball teams do…they have Free Bat Day, Free Hat Week, Free Frisbee Friday at the ball park. We could have Holy Card Sunday, Votive Candle Sunday, …

Somewhere I seem to recall hearing the term APEX Catholic. Ashes, Palms, Easter and Xmas.

 

[lak611]

Tantum ergo;1933423:

But I wonder why it’s OK to pick up some Catholic “traditions” and not others? I will still get looks when I don’t order meat if we eat together on a Friday.

A few Lutheran parishes in my neighbourhood have fish fries on Fridays. I also have a Methodist friend who likes to have fish on Fridays.

 

[ChemicalBean]

A friend at work wore all purple today. She said you were supposed to wear purple on Ash Wednesday. I hadn’t ever heard of such a thing. Anybody heard this? Is it maybe a cultural thing? Is she trying to start a trend?? Just nutty?

Nope, she’s absolutely right. You get pinched if you don’t wear purple. And if you get pinched just right, the bruise is purple for the first couple of sundays of Lent and then it goes light green just in time for St. Paddy’s Day.