Ash Wednesday, Mortality, and the Beauty of Being Human...

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PC:COUNTRY CLUB CHRISTIAN CHURCH 


I am not a catholic, but Ash Wednesday interests me a lot.

Arsh Wednesday, to my understanding, is a reminder of human impermanence. The guiding verse is "Genesis 3:19 for you are dust and dust you shall return."

This blog post is inspired by a book I am currently reading titled Bitter-Sweet by Susan Cain. It's an amazing book that talks about how sorrow and longing make us whole. In the book, Susan Cain dedicates an entire chapter to mortality, grief, and impermanence; her words are so well put and very informative.

What I find fascinating about Catholicism(is this an actual word?) is how rich it is in tradition. It is a faith filled with rituals, systems, celebrations, and structured practices that seem to hold people through every season of life.

A few weeks ago, I came across a TikTok video explaining how some Catholic communities have groups of sisters who stay awake at midnight praying specifically for mothers with newborn babies around the world. They take care of everyone's whole being. I’ve done several mental health talks in catholic churches, which the majority of other denominations could never do.

Apart from the ash Wednesday, they have several prayers and guided meditations specifically on grief, which to me is quite awesome. This is one church that has invested so much in the overall well-being of its congregation, And this aligns strongly with something I believe: spirituality can be one of the anchors that helps balance our mental health. There is a prayer and guided meditation for almost every situation that exists.

Susan Cain, in her book, talks about how important it is to face the idea of death and immortality, and she goes ahead to mention the different communities that have traditions and celebrations around the two. Some of these include:

  • Ash Wednesday (Catholic Christianity)

  • Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico

  • All Souls’ Day and Memorial Masses (Catholic and Orthodox Christianity)

  • Ghanaian fantasy coffins and celebratory funerals

  • Kenya, where many communities sing, dance, wail, and gather in large numbers to honor the dead

Among many others.

These traditions exist not to glorify death, but to remind us of something we often forget:

Life is temporary.

That inasmuch as we live chasing goals, ambitions, and success, we must pause and appreciate the gift of now. We are constantly running, planning for the future, thinking about the next achievement, and sometimes living life on autopilot.

But life is not guaranteed.

Maybe that’s why traditions like Ash Wednesday matter so much. They call us back. They remind us to slow down, breathe, and be present. They encourage gratitude, kindness, and reflection. They urge us to love more deeply, forgive more freely, and stop postponing joy.

Because we might spend our whole lives chasing a future that is not promised, or replaying a past that cannot be changed.

So I hope you take a moment to pause.
To breathe.
To soften your shoulders.
To look around you and realize that this moment, right now, is life.

And that alone is worth appreciating.


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