Wipe off ashes before work?

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I’m planning to go to the Ash Wednesday service at 7:00AM tomorrow, before work. I’m a little hesitant to go into work with ashes on my forehead. I work in a business function, and I will be meeting clients in person tomorrow. Would it be okay for me to wipe it off before I go in to work, or would that be sacrilegious? Thank you.
 
Leave them on. A jew would not remove a yarmulke, a Muslim would not remove a turban. Not only is it a public witness to your faith but it is also a public penance of sorrow for your sins. I would respect a person of faith in business no matter what the faith was.
 
It is OK to wipe them off, as they are a sign of penance, not a sign of baptism. Look, even the Gospel of the day says so!

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.

OTOH, if you are around people who know you are fasting, anyway, or who will not be impressed by ashes one way or the other, of course it is also OK to leave them on, too. Just do not leave them on if to do so would be showing off your piety. That would not be good.
 
AllSeasons said:
I’m planning to go to the Ash Wednesday service at 7:00AM tomorrow, before work. I’m a little hesitant to go into work with ashes on my forehead. I work in a business function, and I will be meeting clients in person tomorrow. Would it be okay for me to wipe it off before I go in to work, or would that be sacrilegious? Thank you.
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Why would you. I expect to see all kinds of people with Ahses on their foreheads tomorrow. If you are going to wipe them off, why go to Mass? To wipe them off is to deny your faith in a way and to help the secular world have it’s way.
 
Cricket2 said:
Why would you. I expect to see all kinds of people with Ahses on their foreheads tomorrow. If you are going to wipe them off, why go to Mass? To wipe them off is to deny your faith in a way and to help the secular world have it’s way.
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It is not true that wiping ashes off on Ash Wednesday is a denial of the faith. It is no such thing. The ashes are not there as a reminder to the world, but as a reminder to us that we are dust, and to dust we shall return, to mind the day of our judgment!!

The world is not won over by ashes on our foreheads, but by Christian faith that shows itself in virtue. That is what converts people, and that is also the sort of fast that God wants to see:

*Is this the manner of fasting I would choose,
a day to afflict oneself?
To bow one’s head like a reed,
and lie upon sackcloth and ashes?

Is this what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?

Is this not, rather, the fast that I choose:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking off every yoke?

Is it not sharing your bread with the hungry,
bringing the afflicted and the homeless into your house;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own flesh?

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard*.

Is. 58:5-8

And that is my last post until Lent is over. Adios!!
 
AllSeasons said:
I’m planning to go to the Ash Wednesday service at 7:00AM tomorrow, before work. I’m a little hesitant to go into work with ashes on my forehead. I work in a business function, and I will be meeting clients in person tomorrow. Would it be okay for me to wipe it off before I go in to work, or would that be sacrilegious? Thank you.
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No, I don’t think it’d be sacrilegious. You’re attending Mass, fasting, and abstaining, after all! 👍

I generally keep mine on, but then I live in a place where most people wear some form of “sacred ash” on their foreheads, and one more wouldn’t arouse comment. 🙂
 
AllSeasons said:
I’m planning to go to the Ash Wednesday service at 7:00AM tomorrow, before work. I’m a little hesitant to go into work with ashes on my forehead. I work in a business function, and I will be meeting clients in person tomorrow. Would it be okay for me to wipe it off before I go in to work, or would that be sacrilegious? Thank you.
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The ashes are blessed and a sacramental and should be left on. Don’t worry, they will probably wear off by lunch!
 
The way I was raised was to receive them with humility. To go to school or work wearing them would be showing off. So we would go to Mass, get in the car, and my dad would hand us his handkerchief after he wiped his off. For all I know, we were taught this because my dad was a top business manager in a hospital and he felt he should wipe his off and wanted to give us a reason, but he always seemed humble to me so I believed it was right.

I think the only time I wore my ashes as an adult was when I wasn’t working and I just went home or maybe stopped in a store. When I didn’t wipe them off, I actually forgot I had them after awhile.

I think the act of receiving is what matters. When you go about your workday as usual, you are not likely to be aware of what is on your face. Others are. That is one reason I still can’t get past thinking it is prideful to wear them in business or school. But I don’t judge anyone for doing so. Wear them if it is important to you. If not, or if you feel it is inappropriate, don’t worry. It is not sacreligious to wipe them off.
 
You are allowed to wipe it off.

Saying that you should/must wipe them off out of a so-called humility is a distortion of the gospel. People use this same verse-hunting tactic to say that Jesus said you should never have public prayer. That is false. Leaving the ash on would be a good opportunity to display your Catholic identity.
 
AllSeasons said:
I’m planning to go to the Ash Wednesday service at 7:00AM tomorrow, before work. I’m a little hesitant to go into work with ashes on my forehead. I work in a business function, and I will be meeting clients in person tomorrow. Would it be okay for me to wipe it off before I go in to work, or would that be sacrilegious? Thank you.
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Why bother getting ashes if you do not wish to have them on your head to publicly show your faith?

Why not just skip the ashes if that is how you feel?

I saw a picture of Biden at a White House need conference with ashes on so it seems if it’s acceptable in the White House for public appearances it should be no issue at your place of work.
 
Jon_S said:
I saw a picture of Biden at a White House need conference with ashes on so it seems if it’s acceptable in the White House for public appearances it should be no issue at your place of work.
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Ordinarily I’d agree with this, but: this is Joe Biden we’re talking about. Obama’s right-hand man. Mr. Pro-Abortion. For him to display those ashes ostentatiously is sacrilegious and scandalous. :mad:
 
Our principal was a nun, and the pastor was our religion teacher. After Mass, we would walk across the street from the church to school, be handed a Kleenex, and wipe the ashes off. We were allowed to continue to wear them, but were also allowed to wipe them off. It doesn’t matter either way.

If keeping them on is a way for you to “show off” then you should remove them. If keeping them on makes you embarrassed or uncomfortable, then it may be a good penance for you to keep them on. I think it really depends on you and your intentions.

Usually I keep mine on, but it is mainly because after Mass we go home, have dinner, bathe and go to bed. My husband keeps his on as well, and the kids usually wipe them off on my shirt unintentionally. Like most moms I’m a giant, walking napkin. This year we will miss Mass because we are snowed in. It will be the first time I have ever missed Ash Wednesday services. We might even have to reschedule our move after this storm hit. I’m so ready for winter to go away
 
7armyrugrats said:
Our principal was a nun, and the pastor was our religion teacher. After Mass, we would walk across the street from the church to school, be handed a Kleenex, and wipe the ashes off. We were allowed to continue to wear them, but were also allowed to wipe them off. It doesn’t matter either way.

If keeping them on is a way for you to “show off” then you should remove them. If keeping them on makes you embarrassed or uncomfortable, then it may be a good penance for you to keep them on. I think it really depends on you and your intentions.

Usually I keep mine on, but it is mainly because after Mass we go home, have dinner, bathe and go to bed. My husband keeps his on as well, and the kids usually wipe them off on my shirt unintentionally. Like most moms I’m a giant, walking napkin. This year we will miss Mass because we are snowed in. It will be the first time I have ever missed Ash Wednesday services. We might even have to reschedule our move after this storm hit. I’m so ready for winter to go away
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Good post! 👍 Sorry to hear about the snow, though. And I couldn’t help but chuckle at the bolded part.
 
A great thread. Obviously there is a wide range of opinion.

I was actually thinking about this last night and this morning. I normally don’t have customer contact, but today we will have customers in the building…

I decided that I will leave my ashes on - - BUT - - If I were asked to remove them I would. My reasoning is…
We are not required to leave them on for a set time.
Doing so is a good witness to our faith.
However, it can be done for the wrong reason and become something prideful.

If, for the good of the company or the comfort of others, I were asked to wipe them off, I would do so out of the same humility and love with which I received them.

Does this make sense??

Peace
James
 
It’s not sacrilegious, you’re allowed to wipe them off. 👍

I don’t think people will mind much for having on your forehead if they know minimally what it stands for, or what day is today. But if you want to keep a presentable look in your business, you probably know better than me which is the better call - to wipe it off or to keep it. Just remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return! The rest is complementary… 🙂
 
Funny story about Ash Wednesday, My FIL had Alzheimer and he sat at a table for lunch with 3 other gentleman. While they could carry on simple conversations, but their reasoning and logic weren’t there. Well on Ash Wednesday one of the gentleman went to church with his wife(he could still walk). And came back with a healthy dose of ashes on his head. So at lunch time the other guys including my FIL told him he had dirt on his head. I explained what they were and why he had it. Well next thing I know Fred reached over and swiped some ashes off of Chucks forehead and proceeded to share them with the rest of the guys at the table. After all blessed by Fred all 4 guys were very proud of their new look. And in our eyes those two Catholics,One Jewish and the other Episcopalian men showed us a light within them that we didn’t know that they had. So I wear my ashes very proudly every year in their honor.
 
Year before I left it on and it wasn’t a big deal. Last year I wiped it off. This year I still have it on. You can wipe it off there is nothing wrong with doing it and there is also nothing wrong with keeping it on. In the course of the day it may come off on it’s own any way.
 
Thank you for the responses. I guess it’s kinda moot now, since I couldn’t drag myself out of bed early enough this morning, so I’ll be going in the evening instead.
 
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