Here are three things about Ash Wednesday that we need to know. In other words, what would the use of ashes have meant in a 1st Century Jewish setting? The Norse practice which has become known as Ash Wednesday was itself, drawn from the Vedic Indian religion. Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep and say, “Spare thy people, O Lord, and make not thy heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. The idea was that during the Lenten season you would increase your regular prayer, intensify your regular fasting and intensify your regular practice of almsgiving so that it would be a particularly intense spiritual season of purification, of repentance from sin, and sacrifice (of offering sacrifice), little sacrifices of love to God. by Brant Pitre He addresses questions such as: • Why do you we use ashes? Some people call it “The Unholy Trinity” (money, sex and power). Outline | Excerpt. Many Christian denominations emphasize making a Lenten sacrifice, as well as fasting and abstinence during the season of Lent and in particular, on its first day, Ash Wednesday. Good job. I never knew so much about St. Joseph. The Case for Jesus. Christian Living. The Woman at the Well and the Love of Christ. So you could give alms to the Temple (in the 1. But what it does mean is that in addition to the external sign what God really wants is for them to tear open their hearts. First, he talks about almsgiving. Verse two: “Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. So just to give you a first example, first of all, in the book of Genesis 3:19, God says to Adam (after he falls, after he commits a sin), “You are dust and to dust you shall return.” So this verse is one of the actual verses quoted during the Ash Wednesday service. It’s from 2. If you’ve ever fasted, you’ll know this (especially if you’re not used to fasting). 1 2 Next. In this video, Dr. Pitre gives insight into the Biblical foundation for Ash Wednesday, as well as the rationale and purpose of the season of Lent. And this is very simple. Woe to you, Beth-sa′ida! That’s very important. In 1 Maccabees 3:47 (in fact, this is more than interesting, this is very significant), although it’s not in the Protestant Old Testament, it’s only in the Catholic Old Testament, it gives us this image, and it gives us the origin of ashes not just anywhere on the body but on the head in particular. Ash Wednesday is the first day of the six weeks prior to Easter Sunday that mainly Roman Catholics, but some Protestant denominations celebrate annually by drawing a cross on their foreheads with ashes. She calls us to fast. February 21, 2019 Ash Wednesday and Lent are observed by most Catholics and some Protestant denominations. This is radical penance. It says when the Maccabees were interceding and entering into this time of prayer, “They fasted that day, and they put on sackcloth and sprinkled ashes on their heads, and rent their clothes.” So the tearing of clothes is also a sign of penance and mourning, but in this case notice they don’t just fast and pray, they put the ashes on their heads. Why? Alright, end of the Gospel. To overcome our disordered self-love, our vanity, our pride, and to put into place of that pride the growing gift in the virtue of humility. Now is the time. And then I say to you, they have received their reward. It is a sign of repentance. Why? Now, thankfully, the Church (in her wisdom) has only chosen the symbol of ashes for Ash Wednesday and for the season of Lent. So Jesus expects his disciples to fast and he says, “When you do this private, regular fasting (which by the way is different from a public day of fasting, like the Day of Atonement, or like with us for Ash Wednesday or Good Friday) when you engage in your private fasting, don’t let anybody know you’re doing it. In Matthew 11:21, we can see that the Jews did this because he actually says in one of his woes against the cities of Galilee that rejected him, he says, “Woe to you, Chora. And this is from the Sermon on the Mount. Why do Catholics get ashes put on their foreheads? Don't you know what the Bible says?" And then in the evening they would break their fast with a small meal. Nowhere in the Bible does it say any Rabbi or priest put an ash cross on someone’s forehead. Because like many things in Catholicism that are often, at first glance, strange or confusing, this is one of those things where the Catholic Church has a tradition that goes back to Judaism, goes back to the Old Testament. He addresses questions such as: You might be thinking, “What are you talking about?” Well, I’m talking about the story of Jesus in the desert. Esther herself is very beautiful, she’s a queen, she ordinarily adorns herself in precious garments and beautiful jewels, but in this case she takes off all those garments of joy and instead she puts on humbling clothes and she takes away her perfumes and she covers her head with ashes and dung. So fasting is a very powerful way to unite your soul and your body in the time of prayer (of intense prayer) that the Church is calling us to. Why are we asked of the Church to increase our fasting, prayer, and almsgiving during Lent? What did ashes represent in the Old Testament period, and we’ll start there. Easter is 46 days after Ash Wednesday. He says, “Don’t do righteousness in order to be seen by other people.” One of the temptations of engaging in pious practices like prayer and fasting is that we can get spiritually prideful and we can want to tell other people about what we’re doing so that we can seem holy or pious or venerable to others. If you turn with me to the book of Joel, every year on Ash Wednesday the Church will read these verses and this is a proclamation from the prophet Joel to the people of Israel. Go to confession, be reconciled to God and begin to prepare yourself for this time and this season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, when we will enter into the mystery of Jesus in the desert and over the course of these 40 days and 40 nights, struggle with him at our side (and with his grace), so that we can grow in holiness, so we can grow in loving God and so that our Father, who sees in secret (sees what we do in secret), will also reward us with a great gift of eternal life and of the resurrection that we’ll be celebrating on Easter Sunday. All Rights Reserved. Now, it skips down to verse 16 (third discipline): “And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Although Jesus tells us not to do them in order to be seen by men, he doesn’t tell us not to do them. That’s the meaning of the ashes: repentance from sin. I’m going to give up coffee.” These are pretty regular things. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face. Matthew 6:16-18 ESV / 122 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Description: In this video, Dr. Pitre gives insight into the Biblical foundation for Ash Wednesday, as well as the rationale and purpose of the season of Lent. He expects his disciples to be people who give to the poor, not occasionally but regularly. Two thumbs up. When the Bible speaks of God “justifying” someone, it means that God, the all-holy or “righteous” one, so transforms a person that the individual shares somehow in God’s own holiness, and hence it … So Jesus anticipates that after his passion and death his disciples will be men of fasting. • Why are we asked of the Church to increase our fasting, prayer, and almsgiving during Lent? And if you put it in its Jewish context it will show us the true meaning of what we’re supposed to be doing on Ash Wednesday. The Temptations of Jesus & the Fall of Adam: A Desert of Victory & a Garden of Defeat, The Ten Commandments: The Holiness of God and Our Neighbor, The Lord will not Reject a Contrite Heart, Miracles and Wonders: Motives of Credibility, Priesthood in the Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Faith and Works: Works of the Law in the Dead Dead Scrolls, The Hidden King: The Jewish Roots of St. Joseph. And then I went to the Ash Wednesday service and I realized, not only does the Church not hide from that passage in the Bible, she actually makes sure we read that passage on Ash Wednesday, precisely because we're going to enter into a season of Lent and she doesn't want us to tell everybody about what our penances are, but she wants us to do them quietly and in secret. No, no, no, no. Why should they say among the people, ‘Where is their God?’” Then the Lord became jealous for his land, and had pity on his people. So what is almsgiving? Sanctify the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. The earliest celebration of Ash Wednesday dates to the 8th century and may have come from an earlier tradition of penitents placing ashes on themselves in atonement for their sins. The basic meaning of fasting, just to kind of sum it all up, is to abstain from either all food or to abstain from food and drink. The Bible never mentions Ash Wednesday—for that matter, it never mentions Lent. If you haven’t been to confession in a long time, if you haven’t been to confession this year, if you haven’t been to confession in 10 years, when is the time to go to confession? And even though Daniel himself is a righteous man, he does penance for the sins of his people. So I’m going to abstain from that for 40 days during the Lenten season. Number 1, as I already said (I’m going to say it again): Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Season of Lent. Again, in the Catholic Church, one of the things we’re going to do is we’re going to take the ashes that are a symbol of repentance from sin and we’re going to place them on the forehead in particular. So these three spiritual disciplines are at the essence of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. SHOP NOW >. So Jesus expects (this is the key point) his disciples to be regular almsgivers. Ash Wednesday is an ancient liturgical feast with biblical roots. This is what he says: "Even now," says the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments." by ChurchPOP Editor - Feb 28, 2017. The first and most important point we want to make here about Ash Wednesday is that when the Church inculcates the tradition of putting ashes on our forehead, this is an ancient, ancient, biblical sign of remembering our mortality, repenting for our sin, and also (very importantly) of interceding for others and of uniting our intense time of prayer to a period of fasting and supplication to God, drawing closer to God by detaching ourselves from the pleasures of this world, in particular food and drink as well as the pleasure of an appearance that is well-adorned and beautified with oils and that kind of thing. When? So called because on that day at church the faithful have their foreheads marked with ashes in the shape of a cross. And what Jesus is saying here is, “Don’t just do that in public (like at mass), you should be praying in secret; in your home, in private.” Go into your inner room (that’s the literal Greek there) and pray to your father who’s in secret and when he sees in secret he’ll reward you; so, prayer. Ash Wednesday, although it is a day of public fasting, is also the beginning of the season of Lent. And so it helps you to pray. That’s why in the Gospel of Matthew (and some people might say, “Oh that’s in the Catholic Old Testament, that’s not in the Protestant bible) even Jesus says this. Learn how your comment data is processed. The Biblical Roots of Ash Wednesday. So the first symbol that we’re going to use for dust and ashes — if you say someone is dust and ashes — is that it’s a symbol of mortality. All day long now you’re thinking about the Church. The liturgical use of ashes originates in Old Testament times. Ash Wednesday is a reality check. It is from this name that the Latins used for fire, ignis. So these three temptations that we all face: pleasure, possessions and pride. And then, other people will even often challenge us and say, “Why do you Catholics put ashes on your forehead to show everyone that you’re fasting when Jesus explicitly says in the gospels that whenever you fast, you shouldn’t let anyone know, you should wash your face, and anoint your head with oil, and don’t let anyone know that you’re fasting and do it in secret.” Doesn’t Ash Wednesday contradict (in that sense) the teaching of Jesus in the gospel itself? He addresses questions such as: Go to confession, be reconciled to God and begin to prepare yourself for this time and this season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, when we will enter into the mystery of Jesus in the desert and over the course of these 40 days and 40 nights, struggle with him at our side (and with his grace), so that we can grow in holiness, so we can grow in loving God and so that our Father, who sees in secret (sees what we do in secret), will also reward us with a great gift of eternal life and of the resurrection that we’ll be celebrating on Easter Sunday. January 2021 – Fr. © 2021 Catholic Productions. It’s a great time for people who maybe have been away from the Church for a long time, maybe haven’t gone to mass for a long time, maybe they’ve been going to mass and they’ve been caught in a sin (a habitual sin). First (and this is probably the most important of all), it tells us that Lent is not (hear me), Lent is not just about abstinence. Videos. They do not remove sin. The use of Ashes has biblical roots. He's going to give three spiritual practices here and he's going to tell us how to do them. But when you fast, anoint your head, wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Notice this, he says, “When you give alms”, not “if” you give alms. For instance, in the Book of Esther, Mordecai put on sackcloth and ashes … Apologetics. It’s not biblical; it’s This is interesting. And the Jews did this (by the way), not just in the book of Joel but they did this every year. Second, prayer; notice this: Jesus does not say “if” you pray, he says “when” you pray. May 07, 2021 Because she’s entering into an intense period of prayer for the salvation of her people. Abstinence means to give up either meat or milk products, or even just to give up something that you like. So in closing then, I’d just like to end with the second reading for Ash Wednesday. So if you’ve ever wondered about the meaning of Ash Wednesday, or if you’ve ever wondered, “What am I supposed to be doing this lent? Ash Wednesday History and Origin. And so what we’re doing on Ash Wednesday is we should be making our plan, making our program. Mike points out that what they represent goes far beyond mere dust of the earth. Subscribe FREE to CathFamily, Well, what is fasting? That’s the first reading for the day. And if you put it in its Jewish context it will show us the true meaning of what we’re supposed to be doing on Ash Wednesday. Chapter 14:1-3 says this: Esther the queen, seized with deathly anxiety, fled to the Lord. A disciple of Jesus is supposed to be a person who regularly prays. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” Even Jesus recognizes this practice of ashes as an outward sign of inward repentance. It takes different forms. The 40-day period represents Christ’s time of temptation in the wilderness, where he fasted and where Satan tempted him. ida! An Advent Retreat with Mary. Those are all very Jewish, very biblical concepts. Great insight into the true meaning of passages based on the traditions of the writers which explains their intent. SHOP NOW >. Matthew 6:16-17. And she prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel…. Jesus knows that’s a temptation to spiritual pride, so he wants to cut that off at the knees and say, “Make sure that when you do these, don’t do them in order to be seen by somebody else.” So how do we do them? Now, thankfully, the Church (in her wisdom) has only chosen the symbol of ashes for Ash Wednesday and for the season of Lent. Ash Wednesday, in the Christian church, the first day of Lent, occurring six and a half weeks before Easter (between February 4 and March 11, depending on the date of Easter). So notice what Esther is doing. Those are all important and they can be part of the fasting, but regular fasting, regular almsgiving and regular prayer, intensifying all three of those is really what Lent is all about and that’s why the Church gives us this gospel. The quality meant a lot more than faithfulness in paying debts. CathFamily is an initiative of the Parish & Marriage Resource Centre (PMRC) Australia.. Some people might mistake the message of Christianity in general with the Lent observance of “giving up something” with repentance. He expects his disciples to be people who give to the poor, not occasionally but regularly. The Church makes clear to remind us of Jesus’ exhortation here: not to “do righteousness”, that’s the actual Greek. And that reading explains the public nature of our fast. So first of all, we have ashes put on our foreheads in the shape of a cross, and lots of people wonder: what is the meaning of the ashes? And the reason we do this during Lent is because Jesus did it during Lent (so-to-speak). Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber. So I just laughed, "We don't actually hide from that, this is the reading Ash Wednesday." If you go back to the Gospel of Matthew 4, Jesus goes out into the desert and the devil tempts him with these three temptations: to turn stone into bread, to possess all the kingdoms of the world, and then to also publicly show that he’s the Messiah by jumping off of the temple and the angels carrying him up. Sometimes it’s abstinence from food and drink, sometimes it’s just abstinence from food, but in the tradition of the Church (like in the rule of St. Benedict, you look at the history of the Church) the ordinary meaning of fasting would be to abstain from food and drink until the evening. Author: Catholic Productions Duration: 35:11. It is from this root word that the English language got … In other words, what would the use of ashes have meant in a 1. That’s why in the Gospel of Matthew (and some people might say, “Oh that’s in the Catholic Old Testament, that’s not in the Protestant bible) even Jesus says this. Repentance is the second meaning of the symbol of ashes. She took off her splendid apparel and put on the garments of distress and mourning, and instead of costly perfumes she covered her head with ashes and dung, and she utterly humbled her body; and every part that she loved to adorn she covered with her tangled hair. What does that mean? So every human being is mortal and we go back (after our death) to a state of being dust and ashes. This ceremony is relatively brief, but has rich symbolism that is sometimes forgotten. Now I don’t have time to get into this in a lot of detail, but what I’ve shown elsewhere in other presentations and other videos is that what Jesus’ doing there is that he’s undoing the three temptations of the fall. Or, “I’m going to give up sweets or ice cream”, whatever it is. So he expects his disciples to be regular prayers, not occasional prayers, but regular prayers. Get beautiful content, seasonal inspiration and Catholic traditions straight to your inbox. The placing of ashes above the brow always occured on Wednesday, the day named in honor of Odin. You’ll see it all throughout the Old Testament and you’ll see it in the New Testament as well. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” Even Jesus recognizes this practice of ashes as an outward sign of inward repentance. While starting a Lenten … And that’s why we have this verse here, this powerful verse, “Rend your hearts, not your garments”. Outline | Excerpt. 0 Comments, by John Bergsma Almsgiving is giving money or clothing or possessions of some sort to the poor, to the needy, or to the Church. DONATE NOW! Not just abstinence, but fasting, prayer and almsgiving. All donations in Australia over $2 are tax deductable. Get beautiful content, seasonal inspiration and Catholic traditions straight to your inbox. The Bible does not mention Ash Wednesday or Lent, and the early New Testament Church did not observe these days. And so, what I want to do in this video is try to answer some questions about Ash Wednesday, some common questions that people have by looking at two things: 1.First, I want to look at the Jewish roots of the ashes. And although the Church calls us to an outward sign, ultimately though what does she inwardly want? Ash Wednesday is an ancient liturgical feast with biblical roots. And the Jews did this (by the way), not just in the book of Joel but they did this every year. We enter then into a period of preparation for Easter called ‘Lent’ which has ancient roots in Christianity. And in the early Church it became traditional for Christians to fast twice a week. Now if you know why you’re fasting (I’m fasting because it’s Ash Wednesday, I’m fasting because the Church has called for a public fast), then guess what happens? Get updates, free teachings, exclusive discounts and much more! They would also fast (so that would cause a kind of suffering), abstaining from food, abstaining from drink, and so they would suffer in that way. So that the monks (like the monks of St. Benedict) would go throughout the entirety of the day without food or without food and drink until the evening. So, Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6: “Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”. To overcome our disordered attachment to physical pleasure. Is Lent just about abstaining from a favorite food, or is there something more to it? The First Council of Nicaea spoke of Lent as a period of fasting for forty days, in preparation for Eastertide. Although Ash Wednesday is enriched with Christian symbolism, we don’t actually find an instance of this particular holiday in the Bible. Well presented and extremely informative. The Biblical Roots of Ash Wednesday In this video, Dr. Pitre gives insight into the Biblical foundation for Ash Wednesday, as well as the rationale and purpose of the season of Lent. For this Wednesday of the year, the first reading (the Old Testament reading) is from the book of Joel 2:12-18. Now is the day to be reconciled to God. And his command to them is that when you do this, “Do it in secret…do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” so that your reward will be from your Father in heaven and not from the praise of others. What does she want? In our day and time, most people have reduced Lent to a season of abstinence. So I’m going to begin here by going back, first and foremost, to the Jewish roots of the symbol of ashes. Catholic Priest sprinkles ashes on PRACTITIONER But we also see the same thing in the book of Maccabees. They were recognizing their mortality (like Adam), they were repenting for sin (like Job), and they were interceding for others (like Daniel or like Esther). 0 Comments, by John Bergsma For 40 days, the Church calls us to intensify our giving of alms. I’m going to abstain from chocolate. Corinthians 5:20: “We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” And then it goes on to say “Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Why does the Church read this on the first day of Lent? Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But the days are coming when the bridegroom is taken away from them (meaning himself) and then they will fast on that day.” Or “they will fast in those days”. The Biblical Roots of Ash Wednesday. Well, two key things. So if you haven’t been to confession and it’s Ash Wednesday, now is the time. 1.First, I want to look at the Jewish roots of the ashes. Why? A second text that I would highlight is from the book of Job, the book of Job 42:6; this one gets a little more to the heart of what we’re doing during Lent. Ash Wednesday marks the onset of the Lent, the 40-day period of fasting and abstinence. 58 Bible Verses about Ash Wednesday. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.". So Jesus expects his disciples to fast regularly. We’ll see that elsewhere in the book of Daniel, for example in Daniel 9:3, Daniel is praying and interceding for his people. So in addition to the Old Testament reading on the public fast, the Church also wants to make sure that throughout the season of Lent we’re doing our prayers and pious practices quietly and secretly as well, so she gives us another passage. Stop there. Wash your head, anoint your face with oil, and don’t let your fasting be seen by others so that your Father who sees in secret will reward you in secret. Ash Wednesday was an opportunity for a multi-sensory way of connecting faith to the body, so many American Christians at the time decided to … Let me give you a few key points. The idea of having this one day where everybody fasts and you have a (kind of) public assembly, a public fast that is visible to everyone else. In Matthew 11:21, we can see that the Jews did this because he actually says in one of his woes against the cities of Galilee that rejected him, he says, “Woe to you, Chora′zin! May 21, 2021 In this video, Dr. Pitre gives insight into the Biblical foundation for Ash Wednesday, as well as the rationale and purpose of the season of Lent. In fact, these are the only three spiritual disciplines (spiritual practice) that he explicitly commands in the Sermon on the Mount, so let’s look at them very carefully. If she doesn’t save them, they’re all going to be massacred by the pagan king. In Esther 14:1-3, we see that Esther, who is married to the King (the pagan king) who is going to kill all of the Jews unless she intercedes for them and gets him to save them, she enters into a time of intense prayer and fasting and supplication for her people. In fact, in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2042, it actually tells us, one of the laws of the Church is that we should go to confession at the very least at least once a year. Now is the day of salvation. It is not meant as a … And Lent is not going to be an entire season of public fasting, it’s now going to be a season of private fasting, of secret fasting, of secret prayer, and of secret almsgiving. This can only be done, for the Catholic through the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. And in order to do that, one of the things we have to do is use our bodies to help focus our souls on God, because the reality is we’re not angels, we are body and soul composites. These three temptations lay at the root of all human sinfulness. Isaiah 58:4-6. And then third and finally, and this is really important in our day and time, because fasting has fallen on hard times: Jesus says “when you fast” not “if” you fast.
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