I almost didn’t go to Mass tonight. I usually go to Mass on Ash Wednesday at noon, and I’ve always been amazed to see the number of people there. Why? I remember last year I asked the priest that question. “This is nothing,” he said. “You should see how many there will be tonight!”

It’a not a day of obligation. As I said, I almost didn’t go. That may sound bad, but the reason is even worse: I’d had someone in for drinks (on Ash Wednesday!), and I didn’t want to drive, but at the last minute, seeing that it was only a few blocks away….

The church was packed. Standing room only. Why? I spoke to the priest standing at the back of the sanctuary when I entered. “Why?” I asked again. “It’s always like this,” he answered. “This time I think there’s even more than there were on Christmas Eve.”

And still there is no answer: Why? Attendance on days of obligation is very sparse by comparison. The deacon’s homily offered an answer—because there’s something in human beings that always wants “a new beginning.” Hallmarky, facile—I don’t believe that’s why. 

During Lent and Advent, attendance at daily Mass picks up a little, and so I expect to see a few more people at the noon Mass tomorrow. Attendance won’t be consistently higher, but it is generally higher. (One can’t help but wonder what happens when the penitential seasons are over. What is it about Christmas and Easter that makes people stop attending daily Mass?)

I’ve never seen most of those people before. I don’t think they’re Catholic, maybe not even Christian. People just want ashes on their foreheads, and they want them put there in a ritual, in church, by a deacon or priest. Why? There’s just no answer….