Ash Wednesday marks the first day or the start of the season of Lent which begins 40 days prior to Easter.

Lent is a time when we prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. During Ash Wednesday services, the minister will lightly rub the sign of the cross with ashes onto the foreheads of worshipers.

Not all Christian churches observe Ash Wednesday or Lent. They are mostly observed by the Roman Catholics, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian and Anglican denominations.

Eastern Orthodox churches observe Lent or Great Lent, during the 6 weeks or 40 days preceding Palm Sunday with fasting continuing during the Holy Week of Easter. Lent for Eastern Orthodox churches begins on Monday and Ash Wednesday is not observed.

The Bible does not mention Ash Wednesday or the custom of Lent, however, the practice of repentance and mourning in ashes is found in  – - – 2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1; Job 2:8; Daniel 9:3;

Meaning and purpose of Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is a wake-up call. Ash Wednesday hits us squarely between the eyes, forcing us to face mortality and sinfulness. We hear Scripture readings that are urgent and vivid. We have black ashes rubbed into our foreheads. We recite a Litany of Penitence that takes our breath away, or should. It is a tough day, but take heart! This is one religious day that won.t fall into the clutches of retailers. There aren.t any Hallmark cards celebrating sin and death; no shop windows are decked out with sackcloth and ashes.

On Ash Wednesday we come to church to kneel, to pray, and to ask God’s forgiveness, surrounded by other sinners. Human sin is universal; we all do it, not only Christians. But our church tradition sets aside Ash Wednesday as a particular day to address sin and death. We do this mindful that “God hates nothing God has made and forgives the sins of all who are penitent.” We are ALL sinners, no better and no worse than our brothers and sisters. This is not a day to compete (“my sins are worse than yours are”), but to confess..

Ash Wednesday is the gateway to Lent. We have forty precious days to open ourselves up most particularly to God, to examine ourselves in the presence of one who created us, knows us, and loves us. We have forty days to face ourselves and learn to not be afraid of our sinfulness. We are dust, and to dust we shall return, but with God’s grace we can learn to live this life more fully, embracing our sinfulness, allowing God to transform us.

- – - The Rev. Margaret Jones - from “Ash Wednesday : A Wake-up Call”

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***  Why Ashes on Ash Wednesday? ***  Why did we start observing Lent? ***

I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband unexpectedly and suddenly died of a heart attack. About a week after his death, she shared some of her insight with a classroom of students.

As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the classroom windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk and sat down there. With a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and said, “Before class is over, I would like to share with all of you a thought that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important.”

“Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment. Perhaps this is a way of telling us that we must make the most out of every single day.”……

Her eyes beginning to water, she went on, “So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn’t have to be something you see, it could be a scent — perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of someone’s house, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches the autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground.

Please look for these things, and cherish them. For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are the “stuff” of life. The little things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for granted. We must make it important to notice them, for at any time…it can all be taken away.” The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and filed out of the room silently.

That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than had that whole semester. Every once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember what an impression she made on all of us, and I try to appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all overlook.

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Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour today. When you go home, Go barefoot. Or walk on the beach at sunset. Stop off on the way home tonight to get a double-dip ice cream cone.

“For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn’t do.”

“Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.”

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

Tags: god, life, love, story

Watch this video clip. It gives a nice background on Holy Rosary.

This video – “A little background about the Holy Rosary – where it comes from and the benefits of this devotion ” is narrated by The Mary Foundation – which is dedicated to sharing how God, through the Blessed Mother as a special instrument of His love, can make one’s yoke easier and burden lighter during the ordinary and difficult events of life.

The video explains the origin of the prayer, its background, its importance, how to pray the rosary effectively, what are we actually doing when we pray the rosary etc…

Watch the video to affirm your faith in Mother Mary and in this powerful prayer for her intercession.