Ash Wednesday

 

Genesis 3:19

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken: for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.

Quinquagesima Sunday

 

Today is Quinquagesima Sunday  

Roughly 50 days before Easter and brings in the last few days before Quadragesima (40 days) for this Wednesday is Ash Wednesday - the start of Lent and the Season of Septuagesima winds to a close.

After today, we have two more days of preparation for Lent. Have you decided what you will be offering up for Lent this year? Have you considered ADDING something to your Lenten practice this year? Yes, the purpose in doing some sort of penance for Lent is to help you grow in holiness toward becoming a saint - so another consideration would be to ADD a practice, such as one of the corporal acts of mercy, during Lent. See the post from this year's Sexagesima Sunday for more on that.

Shrove or Fat Tuesday

How serious are you about Lent? One traditional practice for Lent is to get rid of all eggs and leaven on or by Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday) - and not partake in either until Easter Sunday. This tradition is still followed by Orthodox Christians and many in the Eastern Rite of Catholicism too. This is also where we get the tradition of Easter Eggs! Since you could not eat eggs during Lent, in order to preserve them longer - boil them! Then decorate them and on Easter Sunday, hide them around the house or the yard and let the children go hunting for them!

Ash Wednesday - Quadragesima Begins

The Season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, Quadragesima meaning "40 days." Some will say, "but wait, there's more than 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday!" Well, that is true - BUT - every Sunday, even Sundays during Lent, are "feast days" and are treated as a solemnity - and there is no penance on a solemnity. So, if you do not count the Sundays during Lent, it IS 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday of Holy Week!

Ash Wednesday

‘Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.’

‘Remember, man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.’

On this day, the first day of Lent, we meditate upon who we are and what we are. We are nothing more than created elements of this earth sustained together by God. Our bodies came from the earth and to the earth, they shall return. That speaks of the physical body - not of the soul. The soul is eternal and after this life, the soul is judged and will spend eternity with God - or eternity without God. The latter is the state of hell, where those who refuse His redemptive gift will spend eternity, weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 22:13).

The ashes represent our mortality, and the dust we shall return to. They are a sign of penance and mourning. We mourn not for our pain and suffering, but for the pain and suffering which Jesus underwent for us during His passion and death. It is because of this passion and death that Jesus paid the price of our redemption and we can then rejoice with Him and the angels in eternity - IF - we believe in Him and confess Him among our neighbors. The penitential rite of wearing the ashes for the day of Ash Wednesday is one of those ways we confess Him before others. The ashes are a reminder of our death - and remind us to be ready for that death.

Offer up something for Lent that will continue to remind you of Jesus and the 40 days He spent fasting in the desert before He entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and then the suffering of Passion Week which culminates on Good Friday with His death on the Cross and burial in the tomb.

Also, remember - Ash Wednesday and all Fridays throughout Lent are days of fasting and abstinence from meat. NO MEAT and only ONE full meal for the day plus two smaller meals which if combined do not equal a full meal. 

Ash Wednesday

Remember, you are dust!

Genesis 3:19

Carnival The Time to Put Away the Flesh

With Fat Tuesday right around the corner, the Feast of Carnival is upon us.  This is an unofficial feast in Catholic countries and localities.  One of the most well known is the Mardi Gras of New Orleans. 

The original purpose of the Carnival was to rid yourself of all the excesses you might have - some of the extra "treats" you might have left over from Christmas.  Now is the time to have a party and consume all that you can, for on Ash Wednesday we begin 40 days of penitential observance as we prepare for Easter Sunday and the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior.

The former tradition (still practiced among Eastern Orthodoxy) was to rid your household of all meat products.  No beef, no chicken, no fish, no butter, no milk, no cheese - in short, it was a very vegan holiday.  There still are good reasons, healthy reasons, to give up all meat products for 40 days per year.  The current law in place for Latin Rite Catholics is fasting and complete abstinence from meat (fish is allowed) on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent.  The fast allows for one full meal and two smaller meals, which if put together do not equal one full meal - and no snacking in between.  Sundays remain solemnities, and therefore fasting and abstinence is not required on Sundays (though you still could do so).  Those who are required to participate in the fasting are those who have reached 18 years old and not yet reached 60.  There is no age on abstinence, all Catholics are required, regardless of age, to participate in abstinence (unless there is some medical necessity).

Then there's the "What You Gave Up For Lent" tradition.  Again, this is not an official mandate of the Catholic Church - but it is very popular among Catholics and other Christians too.  The purpose is to give up something, easy or hard, that you would normally partake in on a daily basis.  When you would have partaken in whatever that is, you think upon the penance Jesus did for 40 days in the desert before beginning His public ministry and/or meditate on something from Passion Week, where He suffered immensely for our sins, eventually to be wholly humiliated and crucified.  Lent is a time of "putting away the flesh..." a time of "carnival."

from medieval Latin carnelevamen, carnelevarium ‘Shrovetide,’ from Latin caro, carn- ‘flesh’ + levare ‘put away.

The problem we have is that Mardi Gras has become a secular "holiday" and many people engage in excess just for the sake of being excessive.  Unfortunately, this may (and often does) include other sinful acts.  While much of what goes on in places like New Orleans is not done by Catholics, many Catholics are drawn in by the excitement and temptations of the excesses, so what started out as a means to rid ones self of excess, it has become a day which invites excess where there may not have been any to begin with - it becomes an excuse to be sinful.

Rules for Lenten Fast and Abstinence

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence. All Catholics who have reached age 18 and are not yet 60 are required to fast on these days. All Catholics who are age 14 and older must abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent.
 

Fast and Abstinence Requirements for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
 

--Eat only one regular size meal.

--Eat two smaller meals (or less) that do not equal your main meal.

--Do not eat or snack between meals.

--Do not eat any meat, soup made with meat, gravy, or broth, or any other dish prepared with meat.
 

However, if you cannot, for health reasons, fast think of another sacrifice you can make on those days. My son is a type 1 diabetic, he is now 18 but he can not fast. I suggested that he "abstain" from his iPod and computer for the day. That is a sacrifice for him.

Let's not forget the most important things to remember during Lent: Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving.

Ash Wednesday

ASH WEDNESDAY

We are reminded, "from dust we came and to dust we shall return."  

Today begins the 40 days of penance traditionally celebrated in the Catholic Church, and a tradition carried on by many Protestant communities as well.  We offer up something which we would do regularly, or even something which will cause some lack of comfort.  Many give up some sort of food product, and each time when we would have partaken in that food, our mind is brought to the reason we're doing this - to be mindful of THE Sacrifice Christ underwent for us.

Ash Wednesday

ASH WEDNESDAY - 2010

I noticed someone using the search engines asking if eggs were OK when abstaining from meat, and the answer to that is yes.  Eggs and seafood are acceptable.  One thing to avoid though is going out to a nice seafood restaurant for Ash Wednesday or Fridays of Lent (any Fridays for that matter).  The abstinence is intended to be somewhat of a sacrifice - and to go out to a fancy restaurant sort of turns that into a celebratory meal. 

For more information on fasting and abstinence, please check on some of the articles I've already provided here:

http://cathapol.blogspot.com/search/label/Fasting

In short:  
Ash Wednesday and Fridays of Lent:  
ONE full meal - TWO smaller meals and the two smaller meals, if combined should not equal one full meal.  

NO MEAT!  Whereas the abstinence from meat can be something else throughout the rest of the year (you still are required to offer up SOMETHING on EVERY FRIDAY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR!) during Lent it MUST be meat which is offered up (abstained from) on Ash Wednesday and Fridays during Lent (unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday). NO SNACKING BETWEEN MEALS!