Ash Wednesday And The Four Last Things...

 On Thursday, February 18, 2021, I wrote a short missive regarding the passing of Rush Limbaugh (see here: Rush Limbaugh, R.I.P.), today, I would like to share my thoughts with my readers on the important meaning of Ash Wednesday --and the four last things: death, judgment, heaven, hell...

Some would say that the Catholic Church's acknowledging Ash Wednesday, and the accompanying ceremony, is rather ghoulish, talking about death and what happens to us when we die, instead -- in their minds -- of concentrating on this life and being "happy" and "successful".  

However, it is not only the Catholic Church, but also some mainline Protestant denominations that remind their congregations that this life is a mere blip on the radar screen, if you will, and we will return to the earth -- when God determines that our time in this veil of tears is over.  This undeniable fact should be preached from the housetops, but very sadly -- in most parishes and congregations -- it isn't.  The physical manifestation of the sign used to signify that we will someday return to dust, is by the signing of the Cross on the foreheads of the faithful attending the service.

We can find several Biblical verses from the Old Testament that support the admonition that we will all return to dust -- the end of our own world -- not necessarily the cataclysmic, apocalyptic end of the world.

The following Scriptural verses were taken from the King James and other versions of the Bible... 

Ecclesiastes 3:20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.

Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."

Psalm 104:29 When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.

Psalm 103:14 For he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

Job 34:15 All humanity would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 And the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

The whole idea of Ash Wednesday is to pound into our-sometimes thick heads that we had better stay on the straight and narrow road, and stay off that well-lit, well-paved highway that leads to damnation -- eternal damnation, that is...

So, what are the Four Last Things?

1) Death.

2) Judgment (our Particular Judgment).

3) Heaven.

Or, 4) Hell.

I think it would be prudent to be very afraid of three of the four listed ends, while concentrating on Heaven should make us rejoice, that is, if we do what we are supposed to do in order to achieve that end. This does not mean accomplishing that wonderful end by our own merits; that is simply a spiritual impossibility, but by the merits of our Lord -- who paid the ultimate penalty for our sins -- and by works of charity (love of God and neighbor, etc.).

Our pilgrimage here on earth is a short one... During this Lenten season, it would be a great time to reassess the state of our souls and the commitment to His will, not ours. As St. Matthew admonishes us in verse 22:14: "For many are called, but few are chosen."

More to come...

Strength and honor!

Viva Cristo Rey! Bl. Fr. Miguel Pro, pray for us...

Gene DeLalla