We are practically at the end of the first quarter of the year and for those who profess the Catholic religion, the most important time of the year is coming: Holy Week.
We all know that this religious celebration gives I start with the traditional Ash Wednesday, which are precisely those 40 days that all Catholics have as preparation for the arrival of the also called Holy Week, where they remember the passion and death of Jesus.
It is precisely on Ash Wednesday when believers approach the church so that the priest imposes the cross on them, which reminds them that “dust you are and dust you are.” you will convert”, thus reminding us that our time on earth is temporary, that our body will turn to dust and that eternal life is found in heaven, where your soul will end up when you transcend this earthly world.
In this 2022, Ash Wednesday will be celebrated next 01 March, thus formally starting Lent which will end next Sunday 10 of April, which is when Palm Sunday will be celebrated and with it, the official start of Holy Week.
How did Ash Wednesday come about?
It is said that in ancient times the Jews used to cover their heads with ashes when they performed a sacrifice. The Ninevites also used it as a sign of their desire to convert to God in the face of their bad life.
During the first centuries of the Church’s existence, those devotees who wanted to receive the sacrament of confession on Holy Thursday they put ashes on their heads and showed themselves that way to their community, which was a sign of the will they had to want to convert.
Today, the placement of the ashes also represents that everything material that we have on earth is finished. But all the good that we have inside us will not be carried into eternity.
When the priest places the cross of ashes on the forehead, it is because there is a desire to improve and to have a relationship close with God. This is imposed on both children and adults.
For its part, the word Lent comes from the Latin “quadragésima” which means 10 days before Easter, a religious period characterized by fasting and abstinence from meat. During this time people are used to fasting in some episodes of time, or not eating red meat because it represents the body of Jesus Christ crucified. Most Catholics tend to eat fish or shellfish during this period.
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