Ash Wednesday

I remember growing up, and although we weren't brought up as what some would refer to as "hardcore Catholics", we would attend church on particular holidays and I always remember attending church dressed up in a pretty dress and lace doily covering my head. I also remember the day we would go and have something black placed on our forehead and watching many Catholics walking around with this black mark on their forehead as well. I never really knew what the symbolic meaning behind it was, and still to this. I also remember being told that we had to give up something that we enjoyed, loved, brought us pleasure. Well, since growing up and on my own, I tried to pass on the tradition and religious practice with my kids, but I felt like I was passing something on that even I could not explain to my kids the meaning behind it. I had and have felt like a bad Catholic.

I’m determined to get back on track with my religion… to learn as much as possible, to get back closer to God. I strayed as the Shephard at times loses one of his lambs. I had been lost in the last eight years… I’ve made my way back and was accepted with open arms. So I’m here to learn and pass along to my kids the right information. I don’t have all the answers, but I know I’m on the right track by asking questions and reading to enlighten myself….

So…. What am I giving up for Lent you might ask???

Well….

COFFEE.....

And any, I repeat… “ANY” food that I take comfort in…
Yes, the almighty Gummi Bears, Sour Patch Candies, Chips, anything that I am known to eat for comfort during those stressful times. (PC ought to like this adventure… lol…)

What is the 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.

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.

Lent is about mortality and transformation. We begin the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday with the sign of the cross smeared on our foreheads with ashes as the words are spoken over us, "Dust thou art, and to dust thou wilt return." We begin this season of Lent not only reminded of our death, but also marked for death.

There is nothing pretty about dust.…To call someone dust in any other context would be fightin' words. Don't call me dirt. So why do we do this strange thing on this day. Remember, you are nothing but dust. What is this about?

First, this day reminds us of our creation. From Genesis 2, the second creation story in Genesis:

In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,when no plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no oneto till the ground... then the Lord God formed man from the dustof the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life andthe man became a living being. You know, it doesn't matter who you are, others can find fault. If you work hard, people will say you're uptight. If you enjoy life, people will say you're lazy. If you're wealthy, people will think you used and abused others to become rich. If you're poor, people will look down on you, pity you, and assume you are incompetent. It doesn't matter who you are, people can always find fault; they can always find a way to put you down….

The deep truth of Ash Wednesday —all those judgments do not matter…. We are human beings, dust, beloved of God; we—each one of us—are of ultimate worth….We are created for eternity! What is someone's criticism compared to that? We are free, free of others' judgment.… We spend so much energy on things that don't matter: how we look—what people think of us—what we have or what others have— if we will get a promotion—whose sports team is going to win. We spend so much energy on things that don't matter.…

This, of course, is why Lent is a period of self-examination and penance. We need to stop and look at our lives—remember what we are made of, remember where we are going—and let go of all those things that don't really matter, all those things that get in the way of loving God, loving others, and being loved by God and by others.

More here...

Catholic Encyclopedia - Ash Wednesday

What’s the reason for ashes on Ash Wednesday?

Catholic Online - Lent