Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. I knew, not because I take especial note of the calendar, and it has been several decades since I have had to concern myself with which colour cassock (red or purple) I needed to wear at the church service of that particular holy day. I knew because one of the Mac Donalds team member was wearing a slightly smudged Roman Cross on her forehead. The Maccas that I most frequently spend my time (mainly availing myself of the free wifi there) serves a very cosmopolitan patronage, and the team members reflect that multi cultural mix. Religious affiliation can in some instances be identifed by those who wear hijabs and Roman crosses, but in other cases it is a little more of a challenge, given that not every Muslim wears a head covering, and not every Christian wears a cross, and that there are also a fair swag of "nones" among the team members. Yesterday, one of the female team members I had seen on many occasions over the past couple of years, was wearing an Ash Wednesday cross on her forehead. Nothing had changed in her demeanour from days or times previously, and the apparent good relationship with her other team mates had not changed either, simply because she was wearing a visible statement of her faith. Nor did the many obviously Muslim customers react discernibly in any way, let alone negatively. Nobody went crazy. Muslims and "Infidels as individuals, or as families" sat peaceably eating their halal burgers and fries in the same space; and among the tableaux of diners, A young woman was serving all, without fear or favour, whilst wearing a clear and unambiguous statement of her faith. It was good to see.
Yes, it is nice to see a Christian symbol publicly displayed. It should still be prominently displayed when an animal attacks her and carves her head off to stick it on a pike, for the sin of not being a Muslim, (" we are Muslim that's what we do.",as stated by a recent attacker, right before he was shot) Headbutting during a sexual assault might Mar the mark, and I'm fairly certain the headshots that Christians received when they refused to hide their faith during a recent mass shooting, wouldn't do that mark any good either. Thank God there are so many followers of the " religion of Peace, " to keep the slaughter to a minimum.
Maybe these peoples sins were pretty bad? A little divine punishment? Ash Wednesday worshipers in Colombia hit by mysterious burning rash on forehead
Just a sad example of blaming the victims? Divine punishment??? It seems that some deities have some peculiar pastimes....burning the foreheads of random parishoners in some place in the bowels of Colombia...yet seemingly disinterested in the activities of child abusing clergy and their protectors in this world?. Some gods seem to have very strange priorities. There is probably a non-metaphysical explanation for the incident....no sin, and no god(s) required. However...the report IS sourced to Faux News: an impeccably reliable and trustworthy news source of course. I'd be wondering about the ash used for the marking...its source. Ritual generally involves using the ashes from the previous year's incinerated Palm Sunday palm fronds. Ash tends to be alkaline and will cause burns if too caustic. But given that it is Medellin where the event happened...it may have been burnt coca leaf instead palm fronds.
I'm glad you put the sarcasm "smiley" at the end of your post....it may not have been apparent as sarcasm without it. I think the Muslim patrons were more intent on eating their halal cheeseburgers, and halal McChookan nuggets, than searching for a pike to place her head on...after they had gang raped her of course. But that's just Australians for you...maybe the customs and folkways are different at your local MacDonalds???
Maybe I should have put a few sprinkled through my post #5 also....but meh....my audience probably wouldn't even get that.
Nothing "Mysterious" about those rashes, on the forehead.... You try using Wood Ash, mixed with water, to make a Black Paste, and put it on your Bare Skin.... You too will have a nice "Rash".... it is called a "Lye Burn".... Better living, thru Chemistry.....
Maybe they should have mixed the wood ash with a little lemon juice instead, a weak acid to neutralise the caustic alkaline content of the ashes....or better still....use notional ashes.
The tradition, as I recall it, I am not Catholic, is that you write your sins for the past year on a parchment, paper, palm frond etc. and then the priest burns it absolving you of them and smears the ash on your forehead as a symbol of repentance, or redemption I suppose. If the sins were especially egregious it might increase the acidity of the ash resulting in much more than just a black stain on ones skin. Actually I was poking fun at a silly man made tradition that has no basis whatsoever in scripture.
I would tend to agree Minuteman, only that although the concept of sin can be found frequently in the scriptures of each of the Abrahamic (and a number of other) religions, it too is one of those silly man made traditions. Humanity is a lot more malleable and easier to control by other humans if the herd are inculcated in the notion that there are afterlife options that it is considered important to either strive for, and/ or strive to avoid. Redemptive man made rituals, (such as Ash Wednesday, among others) offer, at a price, ways to alleviate the fears and anxieties of missing out on paradise, or alternatively, winning a ticket on the express elevator to hell. (Not Sarcasm)
