Ash Wednesday and Lent
Ash Wednesday
The first day of the Christian period of Lent. A special day for prayer and fasting. marks the beginning of Lent, a 40 day period in preparation for the most important Christian festival of the year, Easter.
On Ash Wednesday, many Catholics will receive ashes on their forehead in the shape of a cross. The ashes are made from the palms from the previous Palm Sunday and they are a public sign of faith and willingness to live as Christ. As the ashes are placed on the forehead the priest will say, 鈥楻emember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return鈥 reminding humans of their mortality.
Lent
Lent is a period of 40 days and nights leading up to Easter. During this time the Catholic Church focuses on three main practices:
- prayer
- Giving of time, money or items to charity.
- fast and abstinence
Catholics may focus on prayer and, in particular, on Remorse for your past actions. and The idea that people should make up after an argument and be restored in their relationship. to prepare for the resurrection of Christ. Through receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation they are repenting their sins ready for the celebration of the Risen Christ.
Almsgiving means to give to charity. This could be Concerning money or finance., or through donating time to help those in need. Lent is a time to focus on others and a Catholic鈥檚 duty to help those less fortunate.
By observing the 40 days of Lent, Christians remember The central figure of Christian history and devotion. The second person of the Trinity. 40 days of fasting and repentance in the wilderness before he started preaching his message. By fasting, Catholics experience what Christ would have gone through.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
Question
Explain how Catholics celebrate Lent.
Lent is a period of 40 days and nights of preparation for Easter. Catholics may celebrate the season in three main ways. Firstly, Catholics may pray and during this time the focus would be on repentance and reconciliation. Many will receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Catholics may also focus on almsgiving, which is giving time, money and help to charity, whether it is on a local or global scale. Lastly, Catholics may fast and abstain. Catholics fast to remember the 40 days and nights that Jesus spent in the desert fasting.