Ash Wednesday initiates the Lenten season of reflection and penitence which precedes Easter.
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‘We’re just putting it in front of people to help them think of Lent, as a reminder of it, ‘ the priest added.
The ashes come from burned palms used in Palm Sunday. “It’s an ancient sign of repentance”.
The service will being at noon, however, ashes will be imposed until 1:00 p.m.
What is that black mark on the forehead of some people? In the Western Church it runs from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, and so includes forty weekdays.
Lent commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert preparing for his ministry.
It’ll be a rainy first day of March.
An Irish church is set for an influx of four-wheeled parishioners for a special Ash Wednesday drive-thru service.
“Lent is about making time for God and making time for each other”, Clara Mund, a junior at East Catholic High School in Manchester, said Tuesday.
Many Catholics will also give up something or adjust an ingrained habit during the 40 days before Easter.
The religious ritual delivers a message of hope and acceptance that can resonate with the LGBTQ community, which has faced anti-gay rhetoric and churches that were not welcoming, Kinsey said.
“Though it is hard to understand when you are young, the tradition becomes much more meaningful when you are older”, Maki said.
Today marks the beginning of Lent.
But food-related sacrifices seem to have an enduring appeal among people of both Christian and non-Christian faiths.
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“The point is that you should examine yourself and what’s going on between you and God”, she said.
