Ash Wednesday
Freddy Dias
Christians all over the world observe Ash Wednesday. After Quinquagesima Sunday or Holy Sunday followed by Blues Monday and Shrove Tuesday comes Ash Wednesday, that marks the beginning of the period of lent; the commemoration of the last days of Jesus Christ’s life on this earth, over two thousand years ago ~ starting with his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, his crucifixion on the cross and his resurrection from the dead to the glory of heaven. It is at this time of the year that we are called to introspect, to find meaning in our own lives through abstinence and prayer.
The earliest mention of Ash Wednesday can be traced to the Gregorian Sacramentary. On this day, masses or services of worship are held for Christians in churches. During this prayerful service, the faithful approach the altar to receive the application of ashes. The officiating priest applies ashes in the shape of a cross on the forehead or on the tonsured head of the clergy, while reciting the litany “for dust you are and to dust you shall return.” The applying of the ashes reminds the faithful of their inherent mortality and transgressions, and that repentance is essential to become one with God.
The cross symbolizes the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is through him salvation is possible for the faithful. The ashes are obtained by burning the palms blessed on the Palm Sunday of the preceding year. In the blessing of the ashes, four ancient prayers are invoked. The penitents allow the ashes to remain on their foreheads till evening, before washing it off. The lenten season is a 40-day period of abstinence, fasting and prayers which culminates in the feast of Easter. During the lenten period we are called upon to repent for our sins by fasting, praying and asking for God’s forgiveness. We are repeatedly reminded that our existence on this earth is brief, and that we have to spiritually prepare ourselves for the final event of our earthly life. Christian faithfuls also confess their sins to priests during this time. The whole rationale is to mourn, repent, fast, pray and find one’s way to God to attain forgiveness through which one gets eternal life.
The important constituent of lent is true repentance with genuine prayerfulness, which is all the more essential today when the world is witnessing all sorts of perverse and catastrophic incidents due to acute moral breakdown in our society in recent years.
Does this mean, as some individuals claim, that our entire civilization and all mankind are doomed, nearing annihilation?
It is very enlightening to compare today’s world with the prophetic description that the Bible gives of the most decisive era in human history. This is the time period it calls `the last days’ or “the conclusion of the system of things” (2Timothy 3:1;.Matthew 24:3). As these expressions imply, this period is to mark the definite end of an epoch and the beginning of a new one.
