2007-02-20 04:41:36 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
+ Ashes in the Bible +
"O daughter of my people, gird on sackcloth, roll in the ashes." (Jeremiah 6:26)
"I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes." (Daniel 9:3)
"When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes." (Jonah 3:6)
"And all the Israelite men, women and children who lived in Jerusalem prostrated themselves in front of the temple building, with ashes strewn on their heads, displaying their sackcloth covering before the Lord." (Judith 4:11; see also 4:15 and 9:1)
"That day they fasted and wore sackcloth; they sprinkled ashes on their heads and tore their clothes." (1 Maccabees 3:47; see also 4:39)
Jesus refers to the use of sackcloth and ashes as signs of repentance: "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes." (Matthew 11:21, Luke 10:13)
+ Ashes Wednesday +
As the beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday calls us to the conversion journey that marks the season.
As those preparing to join the Church enter the final stage of their preparation for the Easter sacraments, we are all called to walk with them so that we will be prepared to renew our baptismal promises when Easter arrives.
When we receive ashes on our foreheads, we remember:
+ Who we are
+ That we are creatures of the earth
. "Remember that you are dust"
+ That we are mortal beings
. "and to dust you will return"
+ That we are people on a journey of conversion
. "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel"
+ That we are members of the body of Christ
+ That smudge on our foreheads will proclaim that identity to others, too
With love in Christ.
2007-02-20 07:24:03 · answer #1 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Those who work with liturgy in parishes know that some of the largest crowds in the year will show up to receive ashes on Ash Wednesday. Though this is not a holy day of obligation in our tradition, many people would not think of letting Ash Wednesday go by without a trip to church to be marked with an ashen cross on their foreheads. Even people who seldom come to Church for the rest of the year may make a concerted effort to come for ashes.
With love in Jesus.
2007-02-20 13:50:11 · answer #2 · answered by imacatlick2 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Church season of Lent, the forty days (excluding Sundays) before Easter. Lent, as a whole, is a very somber period within the church year, designed to help us realize the depths of our sin before we celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ on Easter.
Ash Wednesday services typically involve using the ashes of the palm fronds used on Palm Sunday from the previous year to place a cross of ashes on the forehead of each person. This, again, is to symbolize our sins and the overall feel of Lent.
2007-02-20 04:48:31 · answer #3 · answered by nisayat 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The same as Carnival it's a custom of Catholic counties, where the beginning of lent as a time of fasting is celebrated by a special mass where the priest puts little crosses of ash on people's foreheads to remind them of their mortality.
Ash Wednesday also signifies the sobriety and sadness that comes after a time of licentiousness, as Carnival still is wherever it is celebrated.
2007-02-20 04:48:53 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Ash Wednesday is the day that Lent starts. We receive ashes upon our foreheads in the sign of the cross to remind us that we came from dust and to dust we will return
2007-02-20 04:45:47 · answer #5 · answered by tebone0315 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Say some thing like: • My daughter and that i are Catholic Christians. • Catholics and many different Christians international quickly and pray for 40 days earlier Easter in a season observed as Lent. • Lent starts at present on Ash Wednesday. • the picture of interior the Bible, we placed ashes on our foreheads for instance our frame of mind of repentance. With love in Christ.
2016-12-04 10:20:13 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
From what I understand, some mainline protestant and Roman Catholic churches practice Lent, which is based on the 40 days in the wilderness that Jesus took to begin his ministry. Ash Wednesday is the start of lent, which is when a Christian spends time focusing on God and what he did.
Not every Christian church practices lent, but for those who do, it can be a wonderful time of reflection on what Christ did for us.
2007-02-20 04:46:40 · answer #7 · answered by Searcher 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The Wednesday during the year when someone puts out a cigar on the foreheads of Catholics.
2007-02-20 04:46:22 · answer #8 · answered by Mr. Marbles 1 · 1⤊ 3⤋
It's like casual Friday, except you wear some carbon on your forehead instead of jeans.
2007-02-20 04:49:13 · answer #9 · answered by Contemplative Monkey 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋
you get your forehead dirty for no explicable reason
2007-02-20 04:47:13 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋