It is not so much that we fell with Adam into sin, as that we jumped into it with our eyes wide open and a cheery wave to the crowd. It is important to remember that we are not only children of Adam but willing children of Adam. “Remember, man”: Remember, you descendent of Adam remember, in the phrase from the Narnia Chronicles, son of Adam, daughter of Eve remember, original sinner, that you are dust and to dust you shall return.
So it begins as a statement of our identity and the consequences of our identity. The first movement dramatizes the truth that “in Adam all die.” The words “you are dust and to dust you shall return” are a quote from Genesis, which comes at the end of the list in which God tells Adam (“man” in Hebrew) what his disobedience will cost him, which is also a description of what our disobedience is costing us. The Mass now offers two things for the priest to say as he imposes the ashes: either “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (listed first) or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” We can keep the word man in mind even if it is not said out loud. The word is, unfortunately I think, absent from the Mass today. It goes, “ Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.” In the traditional English, “Remember, O man, that dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return.” If I have read the rite correctly, the meaning depends upon the double meaning of man. To see this, we will have to use the original Latin version. As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” The rites points in two directions, one corresponding to “As in Adam all die” and the other corresponding to “In Christ shall all be made alive.” Paul’s remark in 1 Corinthians that “since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. Even if this meaning was unintended as the rite developed, it dramatizes St. The Church doesn’t give official explanations of what her rites mean, but here’s what I think what is being said through the imposition of ashes. And, though this isn’t as obvious, it is also a declaration of the good news. Letting someone smear ashes on your forehead while telling you that you are dirt is a statement that you have seen and accepted the facts about yourself, and know they’re not in your favor. Ash Wednesday is the holy day on which you are asked to face the facts about yourself.
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