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The first day of Lent is Ash Wednesday. On this special day of reflection, Catholics wear the sign of the cross with ashes on their foreheads. Dust symbolizes our death – “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” But you may be wondering, where does Ash Wednesday come from?

Understanding Ash Wednesday: Meaning And Significance For Christians

Traditionally, Ash Wednesday is made by burning a palm from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebration. Palm Sunday is the last Sunday of Lent and leads into Holy Week. It was on that day when people planted palm trees to cover the path of Jesus when he arrived in Jerusalem, a few days before he was crucified.

Lent, Holy Week And Easter

Since the courtyards are blessed, instead of being abandoned after the celebration, they are kept to make ashes on Ash Wednesday. Sometimes, the ashes are scented with incense and baptized with holy water.

Ash Wednesday begins the 40 days of Lent, a time when we remember that Jesus spent 40 days in the desert fasting and resisting temptation. The day before Ash Wednesday, known to many as “Shrove Tuesday” or “Fat Tuesday”, is an opportunity to indulge and indulge – perhaps even eat a pancake or two. We do this in preparation for our fasting on Ash Wednesday and for the rest of Lent.

When Jesus was fasting and hungry in the desert, he faced the first three temptations. Satan came to him and told him to turn stones into bread. But Jesus resisted, knowing that he was being tempted to do something that God did not want. He knew that God’s word is as important as the bread of life.

He was then brought to a building on top of Jerusalem and told that, if he really was the Son of God, he would jump from that building and the angels would carry him to glory. Jesus resisted again, knowing that he was not fighting God.

Ash Wednesday During A Pandemic

In the third temptation, Jesus was taken to the top of a mountain and told that all the kingdoms he saw would be his if he would bow down to Satan. But again Jesus refused, saying that it is good to worship God.

Just as Jesus faced temptation in the wilderness, we too face many temptations in our daily lives. As we celebrate the beginning of Lent on Wednesday, I encourage you to think about how you can improve yourself during this important time of year.

As well as being a reminder of our death, ashes on Ash Wednesday are also a sign of mourning; We are sorry for the sins we have committed. We cannot always resist temptation as Jesus did, but Lent gives us the opportunity to reflect, pray and repent of our sins. In doing so, many people make sacrifices or commit to life changes during the 40 day loan period. It is a time of spiritual fasting to cleanse ourselves and renew our faith as we prepare for the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday.

Sunday Mass at Mercy Home, recorded at Our Lady of Mercy Chapel at Mercy Home for Boys and Girls and broadcast on WGN in Chicago, is a source of spiritual nourishment for those unable to leave their homes due to age. Mass.

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Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is known as a humble and courageous man who converted Ireland from paganism.

We invite you to join us for Sunday Mass at Nceba House, where we will discuss this anniversary

How To Understand The Meaning Of Ash Wednesday

Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, a 501(c)(3), licensed child care facility and licensed child welfare agency. EIN. (Courtesy of Bill Donaghy)

Millions of people around the world, today will be celebrated as Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.

Many of them will line up at church and find their faces in the shape of a cross.

Sometimes, it looks like darkness. It is difficult for a priest to dip his toe in the ashes and touch a perfectly made cross.

Thoughts About Ash Wednesday (from A Protestant) (traces Of Faith {traci Rhoades})

Ashes sometimes look like other things, which is what prompted Catholic teacher Bill Donaghy last year to come up with a beautiful painting he called chaos. He put a faint sign on “Load Toner,” and an electric one on “Harry Potter,” among other funny variations.

“I haven’t had a bad answer,” said Donaghy, who works as a theology instructor at the Physical Institute in Downingtown, Pa. “People depend on it to get a kick out of it.”

“At the end of Mass, I pray, and I think,” Donaghy said. “I grabbed my iPad and drew a few. It was five minutes of drawing after Mass.”

It was shared on Facebook by prominent Catholics including Fr. James Martin, a Jesuit priest who writes for an American magazine.

Ash Wednesday Liturgical Covid Guidelines

Donaghy says the art of face ash is difficult. “It’s not the best way for an artist to work,” he said.

The Methodists came up with their version of saints – the Super Methodist, which would become the famous flame and cross symbol.

“I hope to find a high Methodist … but it always ends up in the Blob or Toner Load,” wrote Matt Hooper, a member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Homewood.

But the idea is the same. As in medieval times people wore sackcloth and ashes, it is common to change and prepare for the time before Easter on March 27.

Why Do We Receive Ashes On Ash Wednesday?

“A priest or a deacon says, ‘Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return,'” said Bishop Robert J. Baker, head of the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham, although there are now variations on this phrase. “It emphasizes the fact that life is not permanent. We must prepare for death. Ashes represent a profound change in the Lord.”

St. Paul Cathedr in the city center at 8:30 am and 12:10 pm, and Cathedr Church of Advent at 7:30 am, 10:30 am and 6 pm, Catholics and Episcopians will line up to the ashes. At Trinity United Methodist Church in Homewood, they will receive ashes at 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

“The church is full,” Baker said. “What fasting is supposed to do is draw people of faith to that feeling of change. God’s mercy is there, use it.”

“It reminds them of who they are,” said Rev. Richard Donohoe, director of Catholic Societies for the Diocese of Birmingham. You are sand, and you will return to sand, and it will show.

What Is Ash Wednesday?

“There’s something about it,” Donohoe said. “Humans deeply understand that they are limited creatures.” All of us, but not the resurrection.

How did your Ash Wednesday bin go? Send us a selfie with your name and the church you attended today at ggarrison@

If you purchase a product or sign up for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive a refund. What other way to see a Catholic? As the saying goes, “It is written on their faces.” Every year on Ash Wednesday, Catholics (and other Christian denominations) around the world express their faith by going to work, school, or their daily lives with the sign of the cross placed on their faces.

The act of “receiving ashes” marks the beginning of the Lenten season and has a simple but emotional meaning. In anticipation of the start of the Lenten journey in 2016, we thought it would be interesting to examine and answer frequently asked questions about the availability of ashes and the importance of Ash Wednesday.

Spirit & Verse: A Prayer For Ash Wednesday

In addition to saying that we are followers of Christ, the ashes drawn in the form of a cross on our faces serve as a personal reminder of our sinful nature and our need for repentance. We use the weeks during Lent to put our focus where it should be: on Jesus, remembering his suffering on the cross for our sins, and focusing on Jesus’ plan for us. If we are sinning right and left, we must stop!

Many people believe that receiving ashes is the same as receiving a prayer from a priest. Besides reminding us of our need to repent of our sinful ways, ashes serve as a harsh, but necessary reminder that we are mortal and that our bodies will one day die.

The sentence pronounced by the priest when he deliberately removes the ashes is, “You are dust.”

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