Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day are about intentionality. They are about relationship. Most importantly, they are about love.
Today is Valentine’s Day.
It is also Ash Wednesday.
Though this confluence of days is rare, it is not as rare as one might think. It just happened six years ago in 2018 and will happen again in 2029.
At first glance, the juxtaposition of Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day may seem incongruous, and their coinciding on the same day may seem peculiar. Upon closer inspection, these two observances share more than a few similarities.
Ash Wednesday is a day that is not universally looked forward to by Christians, though one can argue it should be. Valentine’s Day can be rightfully critiqued for its commercialism and its dubious origins and the peer pressure it generates.
Like most things educators teach, there is another side to those perceptions.
Both Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day are about giving. On Valentine’s Day, many people celebrate their relationships by giving each other gifts. On Ash Wednesday, many Christians celebrate their faith by giving up things that draw them away from God. Appropriate and good pursuits, both.
Similarly, both Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day carry a bittersweet undertone. On Ash Wednesday, a common mantra is “remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return.” That is a phrase I recall from over 50 years of Mass and ash distribution, hearing the minister intone those words while dust spilled into my eyes. Christians are to spend this day prayerfully and penitently, beginning their 40 day Lenten journey. On Valentine’s Day, many are excluded from the joy they are told they are supposed to feel as they do not have a significant other. I remember that pain from the Valentine’s Days during which I was uninvolved.
Do not both of these occasions serve as poignant reminders that our love for others should surpass self-love? Do they not prompt us to strive for improvement in the most significant relationships of our lives?
Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day are about intentionality. They are about relationship. Most importantly, they are about love.
Love.
That is something we call all embrace this February 14th.