What do you know about Advent and Ash Wednesday? In the past Renovatus has honored the tradition of Advent in different small ways, and we would like to do it again this year. I find, however, that because Advent was not a part of the tradition that I grew up with I know very little about it.
So…
Tell me about Advent. Tell me about Ash Wednesday. What do they mean? Where do they come from? What are their benefits? What are their potential negatives? Are there good available resources to learn more? What have been your most memorable moments associated with this liturgy? What are some of the practices associated with them?
Tell me. Teach me. And give me money.
Musings From The Ground Up
Initiating a new grassroots movement in downtown Vancouver
Ash Wednesday was on my birthday once.That's all I got.
Sometimes I call my cousin "Ash". Her name is Ashley.That's all I got.
hey Roni… I like it when we harass Ry's serious posts. we rock.end of story.
Since I was raised Catholic, Ash Wednsday was a big deal. My biggest memory was being ticked off all day because we went to church in the morning and got the ash cross on our foreheads and then had to wear them all over school for the rest of the day (you were supposed to wear them until you washed at night). As if I didn't already stand out for being a Homeschooler!So here's what I know: It's the first day of Lent. The "ashes" are actually from the palms you get on Palm Sunday. The Priests would burn them and bless the ashes before, well, blessing the congrigation with them. The congrigation would wear the ashes in the form of a cross all day to remind of us a couple of things. First, the whole "ashes to ashes" deal – we were with God before birth and will be with Him again. Second, it was to keep us humble – there seems to be some Biblical reasoning for this, but I can't remember the specifics. Something like that was a symbol of someone in repentance, and Ash Wednesday was usually associated with going to Confession. Third, the day is observed with fasting from meat (so Burger Wednesday was always skipped that week in my family's house).In a nutshell, it's the beginning of the period of cleansing your soul to be ready for the coming of Christ on Easter Sunday. After I wrote this I checked it out on Wikipedia to check my facts, and I wasn't even that far off!
Well, I was going to regale you with facts about Ash Wednesday, but instead I'll just tell you that I've been celebrating Lent since I was 12. All my friends were Catholic and I felt left out. And I've continued to do it for 16 years because it turns out… I actually enjoy it. Some years are hard, some years are easy, some years I feel like I've wasted my time, but overall I think I've managed to get a lot of growth in my Christian walk by using Lent as a starting point. Okay, this is getting a bit long for a comment. More later, if you really want to know…