Ash Wednesday will be observed by Christians across the world on Wednesday, March 5, a dedicated holy day that marks the beginning of Lent. Many Christian denominations celebrate Ash Wednesday, including Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and Catholics. They spend the day praying and fasting, as well as attending a special church service where the congregation receives ashes in the shape of a cross on their foreheads.
According to Ellie Livingston, a senior English major and Vice President of GCSU’s Campus Catholics student ministry, Ash Wednesday is a time for Christians to prepare their hearts for the season of Lent and examine their lives to see if anything is keeping them from fully walking with Jesus Christ.
“We have mass where the priest will put ashes on our heads, and he will quote from Genesis, ‘remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return,’’ Livingston said. “It’s just a reminder that this world is temporal and that ultimately, we are striving towards heaven and eternal life.”
Because receiving ashes is not one of the seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church, anyone can receive ashes regardless of their religion, age or standing in the church. Although Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation, mass services are traditionally well-attended, as well as worship services in Anglican, Lutheran and some other Protestant churches.
“It depends on the country, but here in the United States people will keep the ashes on their heads after they’ve received them as a reminder that it’s the beginning of Lent and what we’re doing this season,” Livingston said.
According to “Britannica”, the practice of marking foreheads with ashes dates back to early Christian traditions. During this time, in Rome it was common for sinners and penitents to spend the season of Lent dressed in sackcloth and sprinkled in ashes. They would remain apart from the Christian community until Holy Thursday, when they were publicly reconciled with God and man through their participation in the sacrament of the Eucharist.
However, during the eighth to 10th centuries this practice was replaced by Ash Wednesday, with the beginning of Lent being marked with ashes placed on the heads of the whole congregation. The ashes, a symbol of death and repentance, are collected from burning the previous year’s palm branches used during Palm Sunday.
“Lent is a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday,” said the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. “It’s a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter.”
While the early Christian church observed Lent over six weeks, in the seventh century the practice was extended to 42 days, including 40 days of fasting that imitated the fast of Jesus Christ while he was in the desert. During the season, participants observe what’s known as the three pillars of Lent: prayer, fasting and charity work, known in the Catholic Church as the giving of alms.
“Fasting is if there’s something that we’re super attached to in our lives that we might want to give up or take away from, to focus more on our spiritual lives,” said Livingston. “Almsgiving is giving your time, talent and resources to the services of others.”
For this year’s Ash Wednesday, Campus Catholics will have three masses for students and community members to attend at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, located on the corner of Hancock and Jefferson Street. The services will be at 8 a.m., 12:10 p.m. and 7 p.m., with pizza served in the Parish hall following the noon and evening masses.