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Dec 29th, 2019
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Joined: Jul 2008
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How refreshing to see this in the secular press, NPR even. (I realize that Ash Wed. doesn't begin Great Lent for us in the East but we certainly appreciate the place of these Ashes in Christian tradition, marking the start of Lent in the Latin Church.) Full article with photos [ npr.org] Excuse Me, You Have Something On Your Forehead
Greg Miller is not confused by the smudged foreheads he sees on the streets this time of year. In fact, he waits all year to see them.
The photographer works at a snail's pace in general. This project, for example, has been 15 years in the making — though it has amounted to more like 15 cumulative days. He waits all year for Ash Wednesday. And even after a whole day's work, he walks away with only a few frames, because he is lugging around a large-format film camera. This clearly is not about instant gratification.
..."I'm not Catholic," he says on his cellphone over sounds of New York City streets, where I caught him for a few minutes between shoots today. "But I do understand that it's a really sacred time of the year for them — the beginning of the Lenten season where you get back to the idea that your life is precious. ... I think that speaks for anybody."...
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"The beauty of Ash Wednesday," Miller explains on his blog, "is that very ordinary people, heading to the train, to work or school, exercise the simple act of wearing their faith for this one day a year. A very old ritual against the backdrop of modern society." I agree. I have always thought it was very nice.
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I just went to photographer Miller's Blog Dark Cloth Diaries [ darkclothdiaries.com] which is linked to in the article. Well worth checking out. He has included TS Eliot's "conversion poem" "Ash-Wednesday" in the 2/22 post.
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A beautiful page indeed. Thanks for sharing it.
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Interesting article for the secularist NPR. Thanks for sharing it. But some of those comments--wow, such hate!
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Interesting article for the secularist NPR. Thanks for sharing it. But some of those comments--wow, such hate! Warning: unless it is a religious publication, avoid the temptation to look at any comments after an article discussing anything about the Roman Catholic Church...
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Interesting article for the secularist NPR. Thanks for sharing it. But some of those comments--wow, such hate! Warning: unless it is a religious publication, avoid the temptation to look at any comments after an article discussing anything about the Roman Catholic Church... Actually, I find that to be good advice when reading anything on-line. I've come to the conclusion that the average person who bothers to comment on any news item or article posted online is a dithering idiot who would otherwise amuse themselves by declawing kittens with a pair of pliers. Many years, Neil
"One day all our ethnic traits ... will have disappeared. Time itself is seeing to this. And so we can not think of our communities as ethnic parishes, ... unless we wish to assure the death of our community."
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Joined: Nov 2001
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I was referring to like the thief's, dark clothes page.
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The photographer is to be commended for the respectful stance he has taken in recording this, particularly as he himself is not a Catholic but clearly understands this as a manifestation of belief.
Interesting to observe among the comments were that several persons reported that the religious custom is apparently now being observed in the churches of several Protestant faiths that would not historically have been expected to embrace the symbolism behind it. I saw reference to Baptist, Presbyterian, and Campbellite (Disciples of Christ) doing so. Historically, it's been pretty much limited to High Church Episcopal/Anglican and Lutheran congregations.
Many years,
Neil
"One day all our ethnic traits ... will have disappeared. Time itself is seeing to this. And so we can not think of our communities as ethnic parishes, ... unless we wish to assure the death of our community."
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