Lent and the Catholic Church

​Lent and the Catholic Church
(Compiled from Hallow.com)
“By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return”                                                      -- Genesis 3:19
In the early Church, public penance for people who sinned included wearing ashes and sackcloth. This long tradition of recognizing ourselves as sinners seeking renewal with God ultimately transformed into what we now know as Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. This year Ash Wednesday is on March 2, 2022. It is not a Holy Day of Obligation but it is a universal tradition to receive ashes on one’s forehead on Ash Wednesday to begin the 40-day Lenten season, which ends with the Holy Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, which precede Easter Sunday).
The ashes symbolize our mortality and are a physical reminder that our bodies will decay but our souls live on in eternity. We also recall Jesus’ 40 days of fasting in the desert at the start of His ministry.
The ashes are made by burning leftover palms from Palm Sunday of 2021. To receive the ashes, we process forward to the altar in Church, where the priest applies the ashes to our foreheads, tracing a Cross. He may say one of two phrases while he does so: “Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.” Or “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”
While receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday is not obligatory, most Catholics are obliged to fast and abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday.  In addition, they are obliged to abstain from meat on all Fridays during Lent. Fasting is a sign of repentance and helps us embody our spiritual hunger for Christ, who also fasted in the desert for 40 days. The rules of fasting applies to Catholics from age 18 to 59 on Ash Wednesday and allows one full meal and two smaller meals that do not equal a full meal. There are exemptions and formal dispensations available for special circumstances and physical needs. The obligation to abstain from meat applies to those 14 and older.
In addition to fasting and abstinence, Catholics also focus on prayers – especially praying the Stations of the Cross and the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary – and almsgiving (giving donations to charity, often from the money saved by giving up treats). These practices are intended to help us grow closer to Jesus Christ by imitating His sacrificial love for us. By giving up television, shopping, treats etc., we make room in our hearts thus enabling us to listen for His voice.