Happy 1st Day of Lent! Yes, Ash Wednesday is considered the first day of Lent. Yes, it is a day of fasting and prayer for those in the Roman Catholic faith. And, yes, Lent lasts for 40 days, ending on the day before Easter.
Why are we telling you all of this? Because, like everything else in life, there are reasons why things happen, and it's worth noting their significance in the grand scheme of things.
On Ash Wednesday, sinners (everyone) are marked with the sign of the cross in the form of ashes on their forehead. It is a direct reminder that we will all one day return to dust (after we die and our flesh and bones decay). If this doesn't give us a healthy sense of our own mortality as well as lesson in humility, we don't know what will. Humility is a great thing to have so as to suppress the ego, and knowing we will one day die a physical death helps inspire us to be a willing participant in our lives instead of being a spectator.
The priest who places the sign of the cross on each person's forehead says either, “Turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel” or “Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.”
Lent, lasting 40 days, symbolizes the 40 days and 40 nights that Jesus spent in the desert alone, tempted by the devil. We are all tempted by many things throughout life. Do we cave in to them or triumph over them? The idea of fasting and prayer through this period is meant to die a little bit to our own wants and needs by making a small sacrifice every day (fasting from eating all 3 meals a day or abstaining from sexual relations) and not eating meat on Friday's. We do this in order to come out stronger on the other side of it. 'When there's a will, there's a way', and fasting will most certainly show us the way.
The lessons we learn during Lent can only help us to become better versions of ourselves, making necessary changes for living more self-lessly (doing more for others) and controlling our desires/impulses. Delaying gratification for a better future rather than over-indulging in the moment. Not an easy thing to do by any means, but, just like the famous phrase, 'All good things are worth the wait', it is true and right.
Have a Wonderful Ash Wednesday and a Happy Lent!
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