2007-02-21 14:08:45 · 14 answers · asked by RaeRae 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Holidays ➔ Other - Holidays
+ 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)
+ Ash 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 baptized
+ 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.
2007-02-21 16:39:13 · answer #1 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Lenten Season that Catholics practice and commemorate. It marks the Lenten Season which is 40 days ending with Easter Sunday. Ash Wednesday is also the day when Catholics remember that " we are from ash and from ash we shall return" and its symbolized with the ash thats placed on the forehead.
2007-02-21 15:07:16 · answer #2 · answered by pinayinpenn 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ash Wednesday comes immediately after Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday). Mardi Gras marks the last day to eat meat and other luxuries. Lent, a period of fasting, prayer, and humility, comes between Mardi Gras and Easter. Lent lasts for 40 days. Ash Wednesday is when many Christians go to church and get ashes put on their foreheads in the form of a cross. That's supposed to symbolize that the person is Christian and that they remember to remain humble. The ashes also signify mourning and sadness.
2007-02-21 14:16:59 · answer #3 · answered by marcosarroyos2003 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ash Wednesday liturgies are some of the best attended in the entire year. Ashes are an ancient symbol of repentance (sackcloth and ashes). They also remind us of our mortality ("remember that you are dust") and thus of the day when we will stand before God and be judged. This can be linked easily to the death and resurrection motif of Baptism. To prepare well for the day we die, we must die now to sin and rise to new life in Christ. Being marked with ashes at the beginning of Lent indicates our recognition of the need for deeper conversion of our lives during this season of renewal.
2007-02-25 07:18:20 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ash Wednesday is 40 days plus 6 Sundays before Easter. It is supposed to be a time to prepare for Easter and the resurection. We're supposed to give up something during this time that we really like.
2007-02-21 14:12:01 · answer #5 · answered by yankee girll<3 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its the first day of lent Lent is the time when you must give up something to make your soul more beautiful. Ash Wednesday is the day during Lent when you recieve ashes on you head in the sign of the cross. The priest, or the person that puts it on your head says: "Remember, man, you are made from dust and to dust you will return." Its to remind us of how we must make our hearts and souls beutiful rather than our body because we will be taking your souls to Heaven, not our bodies
2007-02-21 14:10:53 · answer #6 · answered by Becki 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think ash day is the first day of spring. Roman Catholics put a cross on their head made from ash a particular plant. The basic purpose of the tradition is to "clean the slate" so to speak.
2007-02-21 14:20:32 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It marks the first of the 40 days of Lent. It is a day of fasting and abstinence. When fasting, you can have one meal, the abstinence part is that in that meal there can be no meat.
People go to church and have ashes put on their foreheads with the sign of the cross. The priest says "remember, from dust you came and to dust you will return." It is to remind us of our mortality and to remind us to do penance.
It is the first day of the solemn wait for the Resurrection of Christ. We wait as if we are in the desert and he is in the tomb. Then on Easter he is raised from the dead and the joy is overwhelming.
It's my favorite time of the Liturgical year.
2007-02-21 14:15:27 · answer #8 · answered by Misty 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is 40 days before easter and it is a tie to think about the suffering Jesus went through before he was crucified. Most Catholics give up something
2007-02-21 14:12:00 · answer #9 · answered by Meri 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A Christian holiday
2007-02-21 14:15:27 · answer #10 · answered by Mike J 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋