On Ash Wednesday Selfies

It would never occur to me to post a selfie of my ashes on Ash Wednesday. It's a sacramental. Would I post a selfie of crossing myself with holy water?

This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday and it’s not uncommon on this occasion, in the age of social media, for people to take selfies of themselves with ashes on their foreheads. In fact, there was even a hashtag coined by someone to encourage the practice. And when I saw that this was trending, at least in Catholic circles, I have to admit, I found it a little off putting so I posted something on Facebook saying that it struck me as contrary to the spirit of penance and then I asked if I was wrong about that and there were quite a few responses in the comments both endorsing and opposing my reaction. So, that gave me some more insight into why people think it’s a good idea and why not. So I thought it would be worth exploring in a video. But, there’s a risk in commenting on something like this after the fact, because we’re much more likely to attempt to justify what we did or did not do than try to see the arguments or principles objectively. So I’d invite you, if you’re watching this, to try to be as honest and objective as possible and know that I’m not trying to wag my finger at you or condemn anyone for their actions. Instead, I think this is a really important conversation about how we share the faith and evangelize because this is a massive struggle in the Church and so I think it’s really important for us to talk about it even if it means an honest look at our own behaviour.

I'm seeing a few comments saying that posting an #ashtag selfie is no different from wearing ashes in public. That's a pretty good counter-argument, but I think it amounts to a false equivalency for the same reason that going out in public is not equivalent to posting a selfie of yourself online. The former is something that is incidental and necessary.