And now for one of the dopiest things I’ve heard in a while

This is just plain dopey.

From that perennial purveyor of blech, RNS

‘Glitter Ash Wednesday’ sparkles for LGBT Christians and others

(RNS) Lighten up, Ash Wednesday.

A New York-based advocacy group called Parity is asking Christians who favor LGBT equality — “queer positive Christians,” in their parlance — to show their support by wearing “glitter ash” on their foreheads to mark Ash Wednesday (March 1).  [For dumb!]

Ash Wednesday kicks off the six-week somber season called Lent that leads to Easter, and is usually marked in churches with the color purple.  [Or, perhaps, a pastel?]  Traditionally, plain gray ashes, blessed by a minister or priest, are smeared on the foreheads of Christians to symbolize repentance.

“This is a way for queer Christians and queer-positive persons of faith to say ‘We are here,’” said Marian Edmonds-Allen, Parity’s executive director. “It is also a way for other people to be a witness to that and be in solidarity with them.”

[…]

Parity is mixing professional makeup-grade purple glitter with traditional ashes. The organization will send glitter ashes at no cost — though a donation is suggested — to any congregation or individual that requests them.

[…]

I don’t think I’ll order any.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in Pò sì jiù, Sin That Cries To Heaven, You must be joking!. Bookmark the permalink.

35 Comments

  1. danielinnola says:

    Well i can now say “i’ve heard it all!” Lord let thy servant depart in peace… because he has now truly “heard it all”

  2. Fr_Sotelo says:

    Glitter would be in the aisles, pews, carpets, steps, and door ways. What a mess. People who come up with this stuff should have more mercy on parish custodians. Yes, it is a dopey idea!

  3. Ages says:

    Celebrating sin with a symbol of repentance. There is no depth to which these sad people won’t sink.

  4. Chiara says:

    How appalling. Ashes on Ash Wednesday are not a fashion statement or a political statement. As you say, it is a penitential action.

    I hope the LGBTQ community are not going to take over Ash Wednesday, as they have rainbows, the word “gay”, etc.

    On the other hand, maybe it will make an opportunity for some to look into the real reasons we Catholics wear ashes. God works in mysterious ways.

  5. Peter in Canberra says:

    worse than dopey I think. A sign from ancient times to signify repentence now to be subverted as a sign of pride in disorder.

  6. catholictrad says:

    This makes perfect sense if you are celebrating mortal sin and its consequences.

  7. Michael says:

    “The organization will send glitter ashes at no cost — though a donation is suggested — to any congregation or individual that requests them.”

    I’m tempted to order some. No, I won’t be donating, and I won’t be wearing them. But I’m sure they cost money to make and money to ship.

  8. teomatteo says:

    “All that is gold does not glitter,
    Not all those who wander are lost;
    The old that is strong does not wither,
    Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
    From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
    A light from the shadows shall spring;
    Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
    The crownless again shall be king.”
    —The Fellowship of The Ring, Tolkein

    This soothes me after that post Father.

  9. WVC says:

    Perhaps a different tactic? Maybe, Fr. Z., you should order a LOT. So should everyone. Naturally without paying any donation. And then throw it in the trash. Why not make this group waste as much of their money as possible? I’m all for draining the resources of the enemy. This is war, after all.

  10. scotus says:

    “This is a way for queer Christians and queer-positive persons of faith to say ‘We are here,’” said Marian Edmonds-Allen, Parity’s executive director. “It is also a way for other people to be a witness to that and be in solidarity with them.”

    Trust that crowd to want to turn something sacred into a demonstration of support for their ideology. The rest of us can stick to what the ashes are supposed to signify.

  11. Filipino Catholic says:

    Um. They will certainly be showing some Mardi Gras spirit one day late, though that day formerly called Shrove Tuesday might be better spent by doing as the name suggests (and as our gracious host repeatedly exhorts) and being shriven… i.e. going to confession.

  12. DMorgan says:

    Sometimes I think that it just simply cannot get any more idiotic….then these little tidbits crop up.

  13. LarryW2LJ says:

    This is why we can’t have nice things.

  14. Sonshine135 says:

    History is replete with pagan holidays that were replaced with Christian feasts. Now there are people seeking to take what was always sacred and make it into a pagan mockery! This is very evil. These are the types of demons that are only banished with prayer and fasting.

  15. Ann Malley says:

    Yes, LGBTQ identifying people are here, just like everyone else. And just like all human beings, they will become dust, not glitter.

  16. Gerard Plourde says:

    The group appears to have its roots in the Presbyterian Church, which has historically espoused the heresy of predestination, so I’m really not surprised that they are clueless concerning the powerful symbolism that the sacramental embodies and what the rite of reviving ashes calls Catholics to do.

    Similarly, about a decade ago a Methodist church here in Philadelphia was marking foreheads with gold on Ash Wednesday. I have no idea what their rationale was. (I don’t know if they’ve continued the practice.)

  17. Kathleen10 says:

    Instead of ashes people would get the mark of the beast.

  18. scholastica says:

    The mark of the beast?

  19. TNCath says:

    I suppose the glitter in the ashes represents the “mercy” that must accompany them on their “journey.”

  20. Quanah says:

    Sacrilege. It is also indicative of just how insane they are. Glitter ashes? That sounds like a great way to reinforce a stereotype by those who are being stereotyped. Guess it’s not a stereotype after all.

  21. JabbaPapa says:

    by wearing “glitter ash” on their foreheads to mark Ash Wednesday

    Outright blasphemy.

  22. ChesterFrank says:

    First, I think of a Seinfeld episode where someone won’t wear the ribbon. Second, I will be on the lookout for some famous catholic politicians foreheads this Ash Wednesday.

  23. Mary Jane says:

    To the tune of My Favorite Things:

    Girls in white cassocks with blue satin sashes…
    Snowflakes that stay safe on our college campus…
    Purple flaked glitter that’s mixed in with ash…

    These are a few of my…um.

  24. majuscule says:

    I am praying hard that no dissident priest will try blessing and applying this junk.

  25. Lavrans says:

    One question I have is whether this latest attention-seeking act will garner as much attention as the inevitable crying and braying that will occur when they get said glitter into their eyes. Ashes are one thing. Glitter is quite another. Then again, natural consequences for naturally-bad ideas.

  26. hwriggles4 says:

    Gee, did I fall asleep and wake up in 1978? I thought disco died by 1981.

    Seriously, I do hope that many diocesan priests in the United States are aware that a small group is planning this dopey show. The good priests if warned in advance should be able to minimize the effects.

    I do know some good priests (my pastor included) who will not advertise when ashes will be distributed. The reason for this is quite a few Catholics will get ashes on their forehead, then leave instead of staying for the entire Mass. Parishes that wait until the end of Mass oftentimes have Catholics show up ten minutes before Mass is ended in order to receive ashes.

  27. GrumpyYoungMan says:

    I like the idea of ordering LOTS of this stuff from them, sans donation. The only thing that keeps me from doing so is that I’d end up on their mailing list (an any others they sell to), and I’m not sure I could stomach that.

  28. VeritasVereVincet says:

    I refuse to believe this isn’t Eye of the Tiber. Simply refuse.

    Girls in white cassocks with blue satin sashes…
    Snowflakes that stay safe on our college campus…
    Purple flaked glitter that’s mixed in with ash…

    “…these are examples of catholic trash.”

    Fie upon the blue–my satin sashes only come in proper liturgical colors!

  29. jmj4today@att.net says:

    Yeah right, “brilliant” idea… but they forgot the earrings and lipstick.

  30. jaykay says:

    Sound of Music, eh? Let’s see: Ummm…”Brown paper packages tied up with sins…”

    I believe/am reliably informed that that’s how a lot of sins used to arrive, back pre the Net and its multiple possibilities.

    I’ve seen bowls of ashes left in Churches after Mass on Ash Wednesday, so that people can “self-impose”.

  31. ts says:

    So…what plant is it that when burned leaves ‘glitter ash’? What plant was it that was laid down before our Lord as he rode into Jerusalem…that when burned leaves a residue with glitter?
    This is another outward action that screams: ‘It’s all about me’
    With these people it is never about Our Lord and the Salvation He wrought for us and the Salvation which He offers to us.
    Lord Have Mercy.

  32. TitanTom says:

    The enemy is inside the wire. Lord, lock onto my coordinates, and begin the assault. In Military code: Broken Arrow!, Broken Arrow!

  33. Peter Stuart says:

    Stuff like this is bound to happen, and who’s to stop it? The bishops who ratify adultery and bang the drum about illegal immigrants and capital punishment don’t give one fat damn about SSA Catholics struggling to be faithful.
    Doubt me? Have a look at the Archdiocese of Washington, home of so-called New Ways Ministry (headquartered a mile from the chancery) and the so-called Human Rights Campaign (headquartered a block from the cathedral). But don’t look for a chapter of the Courage Apostolate, because you won’t find one. Welcome to QueerChurch.

  34. clq24 says:

    This seems more at home on Fat Tuesday then it does on Ash Wednesday.

  35. Venerator Sti Lot says:

    Prophetic Lear – “the small gilded fly
    Does lecher in my sight”?

    Perhaps a bonfire of the vanities would yield gilt mixed with ash?

Comments are closed.