Ash Wednesday And Lent – Why Are They Important?

Tomorrow the Catholic Church celebrates Ash Wednesday. This means your Catholic friends will have their foreheads bearing black marks that look more or less like crosses but why? What is Lent why do we need it? Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent. It is the 40 day period that precedes Easter. The Lenten season is a representation of the 40 days Jesus spent praying and fasting in the desert before starting his public ministry. It is a time of purification and preparation for the passion death and resurrection of Christ Jesus our Lord.

On Ash Wednesday, we receive ashes our foreheads to symbolize us dying to ourselves and ourselves. While applying the ashes on our foreheads, the priest or the minister says, “remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” In saying this we are asked to keep in mind that we will one day die and we must live our lives in constant preparation for that time by surrendering to God and to His will.

So we said Lent was a time of preparation, but how are we to prepare ourselves? There are three primary pillars that the Catholic Church encourages us to use during Lent. These are prayer, fasting, and alms giving. Prayer is the first of the three pillars. Having a healthy prayer life is extremely important in our relationship with God. Prayer is how we communicate with God and more importantly, how we hear Him speaking to us. There can be no relationship without communication. In order to grow in this relationship with God we must make more time to pray. While much can be said about prayer, it is definitely worth mentioning that the most important aspect of prayer is not what we have to say to God, but rather, what He has to say to us. Maybe you do not know how to pray. You have never really done it before. If you have a Bible, then I suggest reading a chapter a day from the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). As you read it, when something strikes you, pause for a while asking God what is it He is saying to you. You can also please make every effort to attend Holy Mass, not only on weekends, but also if possible, during the week as well. Attending the Stations of the Cross on Fridays can also be quite helpful.

The second pillar is fasting. Catholics ages 18 through 59 are required to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting simply means that we don’t snack in between meals and that we have only one full meal a day. This means our other two meals cannot be equal to that one full meal. Also Catholics ages 14 and up must abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and on all Fridays during the season of Lent. Another part of fasting is taking on a specific penance, which usually means giving up something for the Lenten period – something that we typically enjoy such as television, video games and going to the movies. While this is important, Lent challenges us to give up all the things that keep us separated from God. Lent challenges us to give up sin. In doing this, we are reminded that God is all we need. By ridding ourselves of things we don’t need, we are actually creating space in our lives for God – who we do need.

The final pillar is alms giving. This means making a special effort to give to those who are less fortunate than we are. For example, we might volunteer our time at a homeless shelter or donate to a local food pantry. There is much that we can do to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves. So many globally, have been displaced – be it because of wars, global economic downturns or natural disasters – that you need not look far to find a cause you can assist or contribute towards.

The season of Lent is meant to draw us closer to God. Many of the practices encouraged during this holy season of Lent need not be terminated when Lent is over. We are all encouraged to continue to seek God through regular prayer; to give up our dependencies on things that keep us from God and to constantly keep in mind those who as less fortunate that we are.

May this Ash Wednesday and this season of Lent draw your heart closer to God, through Jesus Christ His Son.