Every year the Catholic Church offers its congregants the 40 days of Lent to transform one's life through sacrifice, repentance, fasting, reflection, prayer, etc. The Lent period symbolises Christ's 40 days of fasting and temptation in the desert, where the devil tempted him.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the seasons and days of penance in the liturgical year (Lent and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church's penitential practice. These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, and pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works).
Dies Cinerum (Day of Ashes) or Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent when the priest inscribes ash on the foreheads of the congregants in a cross pattern and says, "From dust you came and from dust you will return." As we receive the ashes, we express our regret for our transgressions and our intention to utilise Lent as a time to develop in holiness, correct our mistakes, and purify our hearts so that we might celebrate Easter with great joy. The ashes remind us that God created humanity out of dust, as well as the symbol of death and repentance. Ashes are equivalent to dust, and human flesh is composed of dust (Gen 2:7), and when a human corpse decomposes, it returns to dust or ash. The Bible verses: "Repent and believe the gospel" (Mk 1:15) and "For dust you are and to dust you shall return" (Gen 3:19) perfectly capture the spirit of the season.
When we step forward to receive ashes, we express our regret for our wrongdoings and our willingness to utilise Lent to atone, purify our hearts, restrain our desires, and advance in holiness to be ready to celebrate Easter joyfully. The tradition of applying ash onto one's forehead originates from Biblical times. The ashes symbolise our grief for the things we've done wrong, due to which divisions/ misunderstandings were brought into the family, neighbours and community. As per the ancient Hebrew tradition, it was common for people to undertake penance to express humiliation before God by donning sackcloth, sitting in ashes, and putting ashes to their bodies to outwardly demonstrate their inward penitence (Gen 37:34; 2 Sam 3:31; Job 16:15; Job 42:6; Lam 2:10; Joel 1:8; 1 Kings 21:27; 1 Chr. 21:16; Neh 9:1; Jon 3:5-9; Is 15:3).
The Church has laid down two obligations: fasting and abstaining from meat consumption to be observed during Lent. The latter should be observed, especially on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Since Jesus sacrificed his flesh for us on Good Friday, the faithful are advised to refrain from eating meat in His honour on all Fridays. Those who have reached the age of 14 are subject to the law of abstinence, and those who have reached the age of 18 but not yet reached 59 are subject to the law of fasting. Apart from these, the best way to spend Lent getting to know Jesus and experiencing his passion is to attend mass every day, spend time in front of the Holy Sacrament, and walk the way of the cross.
Lent is a time of self-examination. Examining ourselves paves the way for us to be able to love more completely, deeply, and openly. We see that extravagant grace in the story of the prodigal son, who went his own way, living a pleasurable life. Let me go home to my father, he thought to himself after spending everything he had and being left with nothing. His father welcomed him there with open arms. God is like that father, eagerly awaiting our return.
The core of the Lenten journey is to attend to our practices of prayer, fasting, and self-denial”turning our eyes and hearts away from our self-indulgence and casting our sight toward others. These techniques can turn the wounds of Jesus Christ into a liberating transformation called Metanoia. Lent invites us to pause to attend to our brokenness and our wounds. Our prayers, fasting, and self-denial, help us focus on others and prepare for Easter, and help us comprehend, heal and forgive.
Generosity is what saved and continues to save the world. Jesus Christ is a gift from God's kindness. What saves us is God's gift to us. The invitation of Ash Wednesday is about gratitude and fairness for everyone in need. Giving our time, resources, talents, or even a listening ear or a kind word can be expressions of generosity to needy people. Consider helping with lessons for your neighbour's child, volunteering at the Church, spending time with an older person, almsgiving, etc., which can be just as essential expressions of our generosity towards others. These tiniest deeds of charity and compassion are meaningful when coupled with a heart of love. Giving to others allows us to actively practise relying on God rather than on our wealth or possessions.
Let the 40-day journey be an experience from brokenness to restoration; from darkness to light; from fear to love; from mourning to celebration; and from ashes to joy.
