Dates are interesting things. No, I’m not talking about the fruit. I’m not talking about the meeting a social or romantic appointment, either. I’m talking about the date as in the day and month in the year. It’s going to be an interesting year for Catholics this year because the moveable dates of Ash Wednesday and Easter fall ironically on Valentine’s Day and April Fool’s Day respectively.
I’m used to seeing people going out on Valentine’s Day carrying flowers and gifts and (gasp!) Blue Magic paper bags. My mood veers from the tolerant to the amused. And if I am on the road stuck in the gridlock traffic, my mood turns into annoyance. I’m curious how it’ll play out this year. Will people still be walking around with their various romantic gifts in tow? And will they have ash marks on their forehead as they go out on their romantic dates? Or perhaps they’ll celebrate later or earlier so as to avoid the strangeness of it all. Or maybe, they won’t care.
At first glance, it is ironic that two special events that seemingly contradict each other should be commemorated at the same time. Ash Wednesday is meant to begin the season of Lent and to usher in a season of fasting, sacrifice and almsgiving; it is a day that encourages us to look at how we’ve committed mistakes or to be more romantic about it – to begin reflecting on the many times we’ve broken God’s heart.
Valentine’s Day, on the other hand, encourages lovers to celebrate their love – to look past the difficulties of having a relationship and to gloss over the humdrum daily moments that can sometimes get tedious. It’s all about the hearts, the flowers and the romance.
But perhaps all of us can learn from both these special dates and see how they can enrich each other. On Ash Wednesday, when we go to a service to get ashes on our forehead, instead of focusing on our faults and sins, perhaps we can immerse ourselves on the immense love of a God who came down from heaven to save us. Maybe the ashes on our forehead won’t just remind us that we will return to dust, but that we were created out of nothing by a loving God. Maybe we can focus less on our own sinfulness and more on God’s mercy.
And if we’re celebrating Valentine’s Day as well, maybe we can focus less on the hearts, flowers and gifts – not that they’re bad, but maybe we can focus on the many times our beloved has sacrificed for us, the things they’ve given us to make us happy and the many ways they’ve denied themselves in order to give themselves more. Maybe we can affirm the many ways they’ve been Christ-like to us. And we don’t even have to limit ourselves to those we’re romantically involved with. We can extend our love to family and friends and widen our horizon on what true love means. And we can even decide to spend it with God, who has loved all of us beyond measure. I’m sure He’d be a perfect date.