LENT, the most important season on the Christian calendar, begins this week with Ash Wednesday.
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Many Riverina Catholics will go to Mass on Wednesday and have the sign of the cross marked on their forehead with ash produced from blessed palms burnt after last year’s Palm Sunday celebrations.
Over the 46 days of Lent leading to Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Christians will attempt to renew their spirituality through prayer, fasting and good works.
“Perhaps the significance of Ash Wednesday can best be grasped by reflecting on the words that the priest says as the ashes are rubbed onto the forehead of a Christian: ‘Remember man that you are dust and unto dust you shall return’,” said Reverend Father Reece Beltrame, of St Michael’s Cathedral.
Fr Beltrame said that as well as prayer, fasting and good works, Catholics were also moved to go to confession, or reconciliation, during Lent.
He said although Lent was a penitential season, it was also a joyful season.
“Pope Francis has told us that we ‘must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral’,” Fr Beltrame said. “The joy that springs out of the season of Lent is grounded in the resurrection of Christ.
“Even though we may have our share of fears and anxieties while in the world, we are buoyed by the hope of eternal life that Christ promises to us.”
Traditionally, Christians observe Ash Wednesday by fasting and not eating meat.
Pancake Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, is often a day of eating up ahead of the period of fasting.
Good Friday this year will be on April 14 and Easter Sunday will be on April 16.