Today, February 22, 2023, is Ash Wednesday. It is a liturgical celebration whose date changes every year, although it always oscillates between February 4 and March 10. This day marks the beginning of Lent, the countdown to Holy Week, the 40 days before (not counting Sundays) the resurrection of Jesus.
The genesis of Ash Wednesday dates back to the 2nd century, when Christians began to prepare for Easter with two days of fasting and penance, a procedure that was extended to the entire Holy Week until, in the year 325 (Council of Nicea ), it was already established in 40 days. This figure has a special meaning for Christianity, coinciding with the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert, the 40 years in the desert of the people of Israel or the 40 days of fasting of Moses in Sinai and Elijah in Horeb.
As you remember from the Vatican, in the beginning, Lent began six Sundays before Easter; but since Sundays were not fasted, in the fifth century they proceeded to separate Thursday and Good Friday from the Pascual Triduum to count them as Lent. Later, Lent was advanced four days, thus reaching the current Ash Wednesday.
According to the ancient custom, on that day of fasting and abstinence, the faithful approach the altar before mass so that the priest marks the sign of the cross on their foreheads with ashes, obtained after burning the remains of the blessed palms. on Palm Sunday of the previous year. After his thumb has marked each forehead, the priest intones: “Remember, man, what dust you are and to dust you will return.” Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris, a memory of mortality in earthly life. “Convert and believe in the Gospel” is another formula that the celebrant can use. And it is that the sign recognizes that man is nothing without the help of God.
As long as health permits, fasting is mandatory for Christians between the ages of 18 and 59. Between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. you can only drink water, eat lightly, avoiding one of the meals. Likewise, during Lent, the consumption of red meat is prohibited in persons over 14 years of age.
Originally, the beginning of Lent also marked the beginning of public penance for those guilty of serious crimes (apostasy, murder, adultery). As they remember in Vatican News: “After the imposition of ashes, they walked around the city dressed in penitential clothes, to remember the expulsion from Paradise. These penitents celebrated reconciliation on Holy Thursday. Towards the end of the year one thousand, the practice of penance decreased, but the imposition of ashes on all the faithful was maintained”. Today, penance has more to do with the reflection that every Catholic makes to follow Jesus in preparing him for his Passion and Death.
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