{"id":1653,"date":"2023-02-22T10:30:23","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T15:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redchairblogs.wpengine.com\/holymoly\/?p=1653"},"modified":"2023-02-22T10:30:23","modified_gmt":"2023-02-22T15:30:23","slug":"what-is-ash-wednesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/2023\/02\/22\/what-is-ash-wednesday\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Ash Wednesday?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week Christians celebrate Ash Wednesday. Many people come out to services and Mass to receive ashes. For those who may not actually know everything that is happening on this day, lets clear some things up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Ash Wednesday all about? Ash Wednesday is the start of the 40 days of Lent that lead up to Easter. These 40 days represent the time Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert but did not give in. If you count the days, it doesn\u2019t add up to 40 because we do not count Sundays in Lent. They represent little Easters and are a time to remind ourselves of what we are preparing for on Easter Sunday, which is Jesus\u2019 Resurrection.<\/span><\/p>\n

Have you ever wondered where the ashes come from for Ash Wednesday? They are not dirt that the church picked nor are they the ashes of excommunicated people. They are the ashes from the blessed palm leaves from the previous year\u2019s Palm Sunday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Can I receive ashes? You sure can! Ash Wednesday is open to everyone to receive ashes. Wearing ashes is a reminder that we are dust, and to dust we shall return. We wear ashes to remind ourselves that we are not in control; God is. We get to rely on Him and trust in Him and He takes care of us. We were called into this world by His very breath, and we will be taken out and into His arms by His hand. You may hear a couple of different responses when you go to receive your ashes. The most common is, \u201cRemember you are dust and to dust you shall return\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Do I need to give something up? Ash Wednesday begins the common Lenten practice of a discipline. Either giving something up for Lent or adding something to your life. This is encouraged to bring one closer to Christ or aid in their spiritual walk. One could give up their love of coffee for Lent and\/or add calling a different friend every day to say hi and check in. A Lenten discipline is also referred to as a Lenten promise, something that you agree to do because you want to grow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This Ash Wednesday I encourage you to receive ashes and remind yourself, as you see other people around campus with ashes on their foreheads, that you belong to something larger than yourself. I pray that this day brings your comfort and belonging.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week Christians celebrate Ash Wednesday. Many people come out to services and Mass to receive ashes. For those who may not actually know everything that is happening on this day, lets clear some things up.\u00a0 What is Ash Wednesday …<\/p>\n

What Is Ash Wednesday?<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kayla"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1QIf6-qF","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1653\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}