1. He was wearing them as a show of false piety.
or
2. He forgot to wash them off before going on TV.
He nicked the roach he was finished smoking with Kerry.
1. He was wearing them as a show of false piety.
or
2. He forgot to wash them off before going on TV.
3.He' a work in progress, just like the rest of us..
excluding you, or course!
You always have to wonder when a politician chooses Ash Wednesday to appear on TV wearing ashes. That's what I wondered about Rick Santorum. Even if they are genuinely pious, they have to know that they are also making a type of political statement.
BTW not only Catholics observe Ash Wednesday.
Joe....you KNOW we are not supposed to wash them off....they are to wear off...at least til the next day, then wash off.
I think the Gospel reading from the Ash Wendesday service covers this...
Matthew 6:1-6,16-21
Jesus said, “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”