Catholics: Can you give a Biblical explanation on Ash Wednesday/ Lent?

Question

I read up a little bit about ash wednesday/ lent online, but can you biblically explain it's purpose? There are so many Catholics around me every year that are always talking about giving up something for lent, whether alchohol or meat etc., but at the same time the Catholics that I know do not live a Christ like life so why do they bother with lent and what exactly is lent all about for them? I realize that there are saved Catholics, but I am trying to find a bible verse that says that we are to do this. Also, I know that the bible teaches that when we do fast we are not to make it known to all, but to be humble. Matthew 6:16

Answer 1

The origin of the custom of using ashes in religious ritual is lost in the mists of pre-history, but we find references to the practice in our own religious tradition in the Old Testament. The prophet Jeremiah, for example, calls for repentance this way: "O daughter of my people, gird on sackcloth, roll in the ashes" (Jer 6:26).

The prophet Isaiah, on the other hand, critiques the use of sackcloth and ashes as inadequate to please God, but in the process he indicates that this practice was well-known in Israel: "Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance: that a man bow his head like a reed, and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?" (Is 58:5).

The prophet Daniel pleaded for God to rescue Israel with sackcloth and ashes as a sign of Israel's repentance: "I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes" (Dn 9:3).

Perhaps the best known example of repentance in the Old Testament also involves sackcloth and ashes. When the prophet Jonah finally obeyed God's command and preached in the great city of Nineveh, his preaching was amazingly effective. Word of his message was carried to the king of Nineveh. "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" (Jon 3:6).

In the New Testament, 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" (Mt 11:21, Lk 10:13).

Lent is about growing as disciples of Jesus. Every parish is united in prayer with its catechumens and candidates for full communion with the Catholic Church, preparing for their Baptism or reception at the Easter Vigil.

It makes no sense for parishioners to pray that these people will be generous followers of Jesus if current Catholics feel that they have "arrived" and need no further growth as disciples.

During Lent some Christians address their difficulty in separating "wants" from "needs." "I can live without ...," people sometimes say. Lent puts that to the test. Maybe they need to "give up" something at least temporarily. Other Christians may need to address blind spots in how they follow Jesus. Perhaps they need to "add on" something. On November 12, 2000, the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pastoral Practices approved a document entitled "Penitential Practices for Today's Catholics." You can access it at www.usccb.org/dpp/penitential.htm.

Lent is not a competition to see who can "give up" or "add on" the most. It's a moment of honesty about the obstacles we could be placing in our path to follow Jesus. Regardless of where we live, Lent prepares us to be increasingly more honest and generous followers of Jesus Christ.


Many people feel that they are perfect apparently, and don't need to 'grow"

Answer 2

Im not a catholic but I believe not all Catholics are as bad as you mentioned, the truth of the ash mark on the forehead is a medieval custom when superstitious clergy and other people would draw a cross of ash on their foreheads in certain days for protection from evil.

I think in the Easter catholics are supposed not to eat meat but most catholics I know do.

Answer 3

Jesus said in the gospel that his disciples don't fast when the bridegroom is with them but when He's gone they will.

Jesus also fasted for 40 days in the desert before his baptism.
The 40 day fast is in imitation of Jesus.

Jesus talks many times about fasting , prayer and good works.

That's what we concentrate on during Lent

Answer 4

+ 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

http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0204.asp

+ Lent +

The Catholic Church and many other Christians Churches follow the Biblical practice of Jesus Christ and the Jews in setting aside days where the entire Church fasts and prays as one in a attitude of constant renewal.

By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert and in spiritual preparation for the celebration of His Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

This season of penance is an intense moments of the Church's penitential practice and are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and charitable and missionary works.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 1438:
http://www.nccbuscc.org/catechism/text/pt2sect2chpt2.htm#1438

With love in Christ.

Answer 5

Catholicism teaches a false gospel of works that leads to eternal hell (Galatians 1). Consequently, catholics are not Christians.

There is no "lent" or "ash wednesday" in the Bible. These are fake traditions of man.

Answer 6

There is NO SCRIPTURAL BASIS for this.