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What's
Ash Wednesday all about?
What is the relationship of Ash Wednesday to the
crucifixion
and resurrection of Jesus Christ?
Hi,
Thank you for
writing. The story
of Ash Wednesday is quite interesting. It has a long
history, dating back by some estimates to
Pope Gregory I in the 6th century A.D. The
idea stems from the usage of ashes in the Bible to
show mourning and repentance. When Jews were penitent,
they would cover their heads
with ashes as a public display of humility.
The early Roman
church felt that in order to properly prepare for the
glorious
message of Easter one should reflect on his sinfulness
and
failings. Consequently,
achieving the proper frame of mind required a time of
self-denial and repentance that one may more fully be
prepared
for Christ's resurrection and our redemption. Taking the
example of Jesus' length of fasting in the wilderness,
Ash
Wednesday always falls forty days before Easter Sunday
and marks
the beginning of the Lenten season.
More recently, Ash
Wednesday has been interpreted to help the faithful
understand
their mortality. In
a typical Ash Wednesday service, a parishioner will
have a small
amount of ashes places on his or her forehead with the
benediction of "Remember, Man is dust, and unto dust
you shall
return". In the
Roman Catholic tradition, a time of fasting will now
commence
where the parishioner will give up a favorite food,
activity or
enjoyment until Easter Sunday.
(Because a time of strict fasting was followed in Roman
circles historically, many people would hold a feast on
the
Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday. This would be a last
indulgence before the time of denial and
also help to purge the house of food which would spoil
by
Easter. This day
became known as "Fat Tuesday" and a festival of excesses
grew around the event. Known
as Marti Gras - French for Fat Tuesday- it still
prevalent in
many societies.)
For more on Ash
Wednesday, you may look at these sources online:
http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?ti=04A0B000
and http://www.
catholic.org/lent/
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