Ash on forehead at work

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So I have the option of going to Mass tomorrow either early in the morning before work, or after work. If I go to the one at 7:00 AM, that means I’ll be sporting the ash on my forehead all day at work, and at a work event after work. I’ll be meeting with my boss tomorrow and our VP, as well. Plus the event after work is a reception for interview candidates, with HR also attending. I’m really wondering if I should go to the one in the morning. I haven’t really let on much at work that I’m Catholic, and I try to avoid talking about religion at work. Then again, we’re supposed to be proud of our Catholic faith, of which the cross on the forehead is supposed to be a sign, so I’m a little torn. For a bit of background, I work in a corporate setting.

What are your thoughts regarding this? Thanks in advance.
 
You do not have to keep the ashes on all day if you don’t want to. 🙂

I usually choose to keep mine on, but I do get weird looks (and when I was teaching, the occasional kid asking me, “What’s that on your head?” :p) I am undecided about if I will wash them off tomorrow before work (I work as a receptionist a few hours a week, so a big part of my job is greeting clients.)
 
AllSeasons said:
So I have the option of going to Mass tomorrow either early in the morning before work, or after work. If I go to the one at 7:00 AM, that means I’ll be sporting the ash on my forehead all day at work, and at a work event after work. I’ll be meeting with my boss tomorrow and our VP, as well. Plus the event after work is a reception for interview candidates, with HR also attending. I’m really wondering if I should go to the one in the morning. I haven’t really let on much at work that I’m Catholic, and I try to avoid talking about religion at work. Then again, we’re supposed to be proud of our Catholic faith, of which the cross on the forehead is supposed to be a sign, so I’m a little torn. For a bit of background, I work in a corporate setting.

What are your thoughts regarding this? Thanks in advance.
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I don’t want to get you in any kind of trouble with your boss or the VP of your company; however, if I were Catholic or another kind of Christian who partakes of the ceremony of Ash Wednesday (I understand Catholics are not the only ones who do so), I would keep the ashes on my forehead as a sign of my faith. Orthodox Jewish men wear kippahs (yarmulkes) regardless of the display of one’s Jewishness since they take the custom seriously even though the kippah is not absolutely required. It’s your decision though, and if you feel uncomfortable wearing the ashes at work, act accordingly.
 
I generally leave them on. Its an outward sign of penance so I feel like wearing them only to the parking lot defeats the purpose of receiving ashes. Its not like its required to receive them. I really don’t care if people look at me odd. Most just say, I didn’t know you were Catholic. I don’t leave them on as a sign of piety, but as a reminder to myself.

And yes I work in a visible position in my company. I have had ashes on my forehead while meeting with VPs and internal clients. I still remember walking in to a meeting a few years ago and a female Sr. VP looked at me, smiled, and pushed back her bangs so I could see her ashes.
 
I’m planning on leaving mine on tomorrow, but I am fully prepared for some laughing and snide comments from at least one of the guys I work with. He doesn’t have any respect for anyone else, so I’m sure it’s coming. But hey, if Jesus can be nailed to a cross for me, surely I can endure a little teasing for him, right? Truth be told, I really dontcare what any of the guys think and it might give me an opportunity to show them a little bit of a Christian attitude.
 
Usige said:
And yes I work in a visible position in my company. I have had ashes on my forehead while meeting with VPs and internal clients. I still remember walking in to a meeting a few years ago and a female Sr. VP looked at me, smiled, and pushed back her bangs so I could see her ashes.
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Wow, that’s a wonderful story! And very inspiring!
 
I wipe mine off. I’m not one to enjoy extra attention. I think it can be a bit prideful to go around town with ashes, but that’s just me and I’m sure many disagree. I’m just private I guess.
 
I like to wear ashes on my forehead, and its wonderful to get questions about them after a well-meaning individual says “you got something on your forehead”… the ashes tend to be rather provacative in that way. A simple reply: “its Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the 40 days of Lent, and the ashes remind us that we are going to die someday”, sometimes leads to more questions.

Ash Wednesday is a wonderful opportunity to live our faith humbly. Its one of the beautiful traditions of our faith.
 
JackieMom said:
I wipe mine off. I’m not one to enjoy extra attention. I think it can be a bit prideful to go around town with ashes, but that’s just me and I’m sure many disagree. I’m just private I guess.
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It depends…last year I had them on at work in the afternoon…and was really uncomfortable…it was a penance to be sure…for me at least.
 
AllSeasons said:
So I have the option of going to Mass tomorrow either early in the morning before work, or after work. If I go to the one at 7:00 AM, that means I’ll be sporting the ash on my forehead all day at work, and at a work event after work. I’ll be meeting with my boss tomorrow and our VP, as well. Plus the event after work is a reception for interview candidates, with HR also attending. I’m really wondering if I should go to the one in the morning. I haven’t really let on much at work that I’m Catholic, and I try to avoid talking about religion at work. Then again, we’re supposed to be proud of our Catholic faith, of which the cross on the forehead is supposed to be a sign, so I’m a little torn. For a bit of background, I work in a corporate setting.

What are your thoughts regarding this? Thanks in advance.
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I think singularising yourself is not penitential. You clearly want to be seen to be penitential. So for you the real penance would be to wash your face
 
I remember working at a place in NY where our boss (who was Jewish) gave everyone the option to get a paid extra half hour or so if we wanted to leave and get ashes and return to work. Many non-Catholic Christians went also and I don’t ever remember being asked about it or getting any weird looks- maybe because just about every other person we passed on the streets had ashes, too.
 
My priest mentioned the following verse last year - Matthew 6:16-18:
Code: 
"When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."
 
For me, I will wipe it off only if I want to go out in public places… I rather wipe it off than hearing Protestants/Muslims gossiping about false facts about Catholicism… Catholics are minorities here in Malaysia…
 
joanofarc2008 said:
My priest mentioned the following verse last year - Matthew 6:16-18:
Code: 
"When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."
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I think it can go either way, yes. If you’re working in New Orleans, leave them on, you won’t stick out in the least. If you’re somewhere where you’d be just drawing attention to yourself–hey, look at me, I’m a practicing Catholic!–then an good argument can be made in favor of washing them off. There isn’t an official rule either way, at any rate.
 
AllSeasons said:
So I have the option of going to Mass tomorrow either early in the morning before work, or after work. If I go to the one at 7:00 AM, that means I’ll be sporting the ash on my forehead all day at work, and at a work event after work. I’ll be meeting with my boss tomorrow and our VP, as well. Plus the event after work is a reception for interview candidates, with HR also attending. I’m really wondering if I should go to the one in the morning. I haven’t really let on much at work that I’m Catholic, and I try to avoid talking about religion at work. Then again, we’re supposed to be proud of our Catholic faith, of which the cross on the forehead is supposed to be a sign, so I’m a little torn. For a bit of background, I work in a corporate setting.

What are your thoughts regarding this? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
I tend to get them early and leave them on, for three reasons: it reminds me that even while I’m doing “normal” stuff that there is a big picture, with an emphasis on the last things that I (probably unconsciously) avoid at other times, because I think it’s a good witness in general for our society in these times to see people referencing the faith without being obnoxious, and finally because as a as a math nerd grad student who teaches undergrads, I hope that it helps combat the false illusion that all nerdy people are atheists.

In regards to what another poster said, I too worry about an element of the destructive “look at me I’m so holy” pride (either in actuality or in impression, especially given my last reason, and as opposed to the “isn’t the Catholic Church great” pride which is good), but in the end for myself I think that ashes once year is acceptable and that should the bad pride threaten I’ll just mentally kick myself a few times - it’s not as though I don’t have the ammunition to shoot down that claim.

The most amusing response I got was one of my students coming up to me after class and asking if I knew that I had something on my forehead - I still haven’t been able to figure out if he was serious or not.
 
There’s only a couple of times a year when Catholics get to be seen as different from everyone else, and Ash Wednesday is one of them.

I hate being the focus of attention, so it is difficult for me to be seen with ashes on.

But I would keep them on, and still do. And I’ve worked on construction, in prison, and in financial services.

Life is a bit different now, because I am Chaplain of a Catholic High School and everyone is getting ashes tomorrow!👍
 
EasterJoy said:
I think it can go either way, yes. If you’re working in New Orleans, leave them on, you won’t stick out in the least. If you’re somewhere where you’d be just drawing attention to yourself–hey, look at me, I’m a practicing Catholic!–then an good argument can be made in favor of washing them off. There isn’t an official rule either way, at any rate.
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A good argument can also be made for leaving them on in those same situation, if (and only if) you can pull off “look, Catholics are still around and worshiping God, isn’t that great” instead of “look at me aren’t I so great.”

To me, it’s kind of like seeing nuns in habits or priests in collars. It’s a reminder that there are other things. Which is not to wave the danger away - especially in other times when religion was more central to the culture, publicly practicing religion could be done not for the sake of the religion, but for the sake of being noticed and given honor for being religious. I think that risk is lesser (or at least different), now, but public prayer and such can be appropriate when it is done for God first, for others second, and for forming others’ opinions of yourself never (whether or not this happens).

Care must be taken, but I don’t think it’s as cut and dried as “avoid it when most people around you avoid it.” Gotta spread the message somehow, and not only by preaching (via words or ashes) where others are also preaching.
 
It’s like this - I have a Tau since I made Candidacy in August. Some that are Catholic know what it is. Some that are don’t. Most that aren’t don’t. While New Orleans is a historically Catholic city - outside the city is very not Catholic. If one deals with those that are not Catholic - there are some definite anti-Catholic sentiments. It is important to know who you are around.
 
Iron_Donkey said:
A good argument can also be made for leaving them on in those same situation, if (and only if) you can pull off “look, Catholics are still around and worshiping God, isn’t that great” instead of “look at me aren’t I so great.”

To me, it’s kind of like seeing nuns in habits or priests in collars. It’s a reminder that there are other things. Which is not to wave the danger away - especially in other times when religion was more central to the culture, publicly practicing religion could be done not for the sake of the religion, but for the sake of being noticed and given honor for being religious. I think that risk is lesser (or at least different), now, but public prayer and such can be appropriate when it is done for God first, for others second, and for forming others’ opinions of yourself never (whether or not this happens).

Care must be taken, but I don’t think it’s as cut and dried as “avoid it when most people around you avoid it.” Gotta spread the message somehow, and not only by preaching (via words or ashes) where others are also preaching.
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If you’re more likely to edify someone, leave them on. Otherwise, wash them off. They’re meant for mutual reminder, not for letting everyone who is not fasting know that we fast.

We’re supposed to let the world know we belong to the Lord by our love, not by the ashes.
 
meltzerboy said:
I don’t want to get you in any kind of trouble with your boss or the VP of your company; however, if I were Catholic or another kind of Christian who partakes of the ceremony of Ash Wednesday (I understand Catholics are not the only ones who do so), I would keep the ashes on my forehead as a sign of my faith. Orthodox Jewish men wear kippahs (yarmulkes) regardless of the display of one’s Jewishness since they take the custom seriously even though the kippah is not absolutely required. It’s your decision though, and if you feel uncomfortable wearing the ashes at work, act accordingly.
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I’m down with that. I will receive ashes at the morning Mass and then go on about my day, other people may need to wipe them off. I neither feel prideful or ashamed of that. It is a meaningful tradition that I thoughtfully participate in. We don’t need to hyper-spiritualize or hyper-psycholise (sp?) - it is what it is.
 
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