Ash Wednesday at the Capitol: In the Shadow of Politics, A Sign of Faith

Thanks to a partnership between the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver and the Colorado Catholic Conference, lawmakers, staff and visitors to the Colorado State Capitol had the chance to mark Ash Wednesday with prayer.

(Photo by Neil McDonough)

Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, and in downtown Denver, the holy season saw a surprising start as the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and the Colorado Catholic Conference brought ashes to a perhaps unlikely place: the Colorado State Capitol.

For the third year in a row, the unique Ash Wednesday service afforded lawmakers, staff and visitors across the aisle the opportunity to begin the holy and penitential season in prayer.

“It is a great way to begin the Lenten season and bring people together for something bigger than politics,” said Nathan Fisher, associate director of the Colorado Catholic Conference and organizer of the special Capitol service. “It is fun to see people hearing of it in the Capitol and rushing as quickly as they can into the room where we have the service. It just puts on display that, while it may seem like Democrat vs. Republican in the Capitol, we all recognize and are called to something higher and greater.”

“Lord, we thank you for the many blessings you bestow upon us. Lord, we thank you for the gift of this holy season of Lent. We accept the challenge, Lord, that we will spend these 40 days growing closer and closer to you so that we can grow in love and knowledge of you and love and knowledge of our neighbors,” Father Michael Bodzioch, rector of the Cathedral Basilica, prayed during the service. “I ask you to go in a special way to bless all the people who serve here in the State House. Send forth your healing Holy Spirit upon all of us. Strengthen us so that we can seek, find and do the Father's will in all that we do.”

(Photos by Neil McDonough)

Indeed, the Gospel reminder of memento mori on Ash Wednesday echoes and reechoes through the lofty halls of a place where tensions can be high, debates can be heated and words can be pointed.

“In a place as dark as the Capitol, Ash Wednesday reminds us that our bodies and time on this earth will perish. Jesus is ultimately victorious, regardless of the legislation passed,” said Brittany Vessely, executive director of the Colorado Catholic Conference. “And we — lawmakers and concerned citizens— are all called to be his light in that dark place until his return.”

Despite any divide, the solemn beginning of Lent is a poignant reminder that all — no matter their geography, demographic or political affiliation — share one thing in common: we will each meet the Lord Jesus when we pass from this life to the next.

“At some point, the legislators’ time at the Legislature will end, and someone else will sit in their seat,” Fisher continued. “It’s what they do with the time they have there that will leave a legacy. What better legacy than to honor the truth of the Gospel and Our Lord? To display humility, acknowledging that we come from dust and to dust we shall return? No public policy or statement from a lawmaker will get you to Heaven, but living and speaking the truth will.”

For Fisher, the Ash Wednesday service at the Capitol holds special significance, since it led him, in part, to where he is today. The former legislative staffer not only found his current role at the Colorado Catholic Conference thanks to the service, but also encountered something far more important: his faith.

“My faith story grew in our State Capitol. The former leader I worked for was my sponsor coming into the Church,” he noted, pointing to the annual Ash Wednesday services and regular office blessings as sources of grace in his own journey to the Catholic Church. “Between office blessings and Ash Wednesday services, in a place some might not expect, the Lord was working and working in my life to lead me to the place I am today: the Colorado Catholic Conference. The Lord has been so great in my life in recent years.”