The Christian world today begins a 40-day period of praying, fasting, arms-giving and self-denial with Ash Wednesday. This religious exercise reminds mankind of its mortality through the ritual of placing ash on the forehead. Lent is a season in the Christian Calendar when the faithful focus on simple living, praying and fasting to grow in spirit and get closer to God. It is a period that serves to purify oneself in readiness for Passion Week, which peaks with three important events – the institution of the Priesthood and the Holy Eucharist on Holy Thursday, the re-enactment of the crucifixion and death of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, on Mount Calvary on Good Friday as well as his Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
On this Holy Day, Christians are constantly admonished to remember their mortality, repent their sins, and return to God in penitence. It is a period in which the faithful inexorably submit to the truism that life is a precious gift from God and make a conscious effort to direct their living towards Jesus Christ. It is a period in which Christians make resolutions and commit to changing their lives to be more Christ-like. Christians, especially Catholics, during Ash Wednesday Masses, the officiating priest marks the sign of the cross on the forehead of the faithful with ashes mixed with holy oil or water as a reminder that “dust we are, to dust we shall return”.
The use of ash pre-dates Christianity and goes back to the Jewish era. In Jewish and Christian traditions, ash signifies mortality and repentance. Mortality, because when we die, our bodies eventually decompose and become dust/dirt/ash/whatever. ‘Dust thou art, to dust thou returneth.’ Repentance, because long ago, when people were remorseful about something they did, they would put ashes on their heads and wear sackcloth to remind themselves that sin is uncomfortable and leads to death of the spirit. This was their way of confessing their sins and making atonement for them.
In this religious event, the ash, too, is unique because it is not from just any palm frond. It is specifically from the palm frond used during the previous year’s Palm Sunday or Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem that marks the beginning of the Passion Week that leads to His crucifixion on Good Friday and culminates in His Resurrection on Easter Sunday
Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem while people waved palms and cheered him on. Those palms are prayed over and sprinkled with Holy Water, making them sacramental. In the Catholic Church, a sacramental is an object, act, or ritual to show religious devotion. That palm frond is treated like one and preserved until the next Lenten season. Those palm fronds waved in joy for Jesus become ashes of sorrow during Lent when they are burnt and blessed on Ash Wednesday. Saving the palms from Palm Sunday, burning them, and mixing them with a bit of oil or water after prayers by the officiating priest makes it symbolic.
On Ash Wednesday Masses, the faithful are expected, mandatorily, to come forward to receive the ashes. The priest will make a small cross on their foreheads by smudging the ashes- an outward sign of inward grace. While the ashes remind us of our mortality and sin, the cross reminds us of Jesus’ resurrection (life after death) and forgiveness. It’s a powerful, non-verbal way to experience God’s forgiveness and renewal as we return to Jesus.
The 40-day period of Lent takes Christians back to the baptism of Jesus when the sky opened, the Spirit of God, which looked like a dove, descended on Jesus, and a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, My Beloved, with whom I am pleased.” Afterwards, as told in Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus was sent into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, where he fasted and prayed for 40 days. During His time there, He was tempted by Satan and found clarity and strength to resist temptation. Afterwards, He was ready to begin His earthly ministry.
Lent is a great time to repent- to return to God and re-focus one’s life to be more in line with Jesus. It’s a 40-day trial run in changing one’s lifestyle and letting God change one’s heart. It involves fasting, going without food for days, skipping meals, and abstinence. It also involves cutting out some things in one’s life that distract one from God. It requires service and arms-giving. Serving others is one way we serve God, and we should learn how to give of ourselves in prayer. It is a time of intense prayer, a way of becoming more in tune with God.
As the nation experiences hardship in all spheres, this Lenten period is the appropriate time to fast, pray, and invite God’s divine intervention in our situation. The Holy Scriptures admonish us that if we call God in our moment of difficulty, He will hear and answer us. And so shall it be.
