God’s Peace be with you all.
Nehemiah 9:1-3
Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people
of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth,
and with earth on their heads. 2 Then
those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all
foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the
iniquities of their ancestors. 3 They
stood up in their place and read from the book of the
law of the LORD their God for a fourth part of the day,
and for another fourth they made confession and
worshiped the LORD their God.
This Wednesday we will do something very similar
to the returnees from the Exile in Babylon. We will gather,
put earth (ashes in our case) on our heads, and confess our
sins before our God. And with that, so begins the season of
Lent. I have been asked many questions about Ash
Wednesday:
Why Ashes?
Why do we celebrate Ash Wednesday?
Why confession and no absolution?
Here are the answers, courtesy of catholic.org:
“Following the example of the Nine
vites, who did penance in sackcloth and ashes, our foreheads
are marked with ashes to humble our hearts and reminds us
that life passes away on Earth. We remember this when we are
told "Remember, Man is dust, and unto
dust you shall return."
Ashes are a symbol of
penance made sacramental by the blessing of the Church, and
they help us develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice.
The distribution of ashes comes from a ceremony of ages
past. Christians who had committed grave faults performed
public penance. On Ash Wednesday, the Bishop blessed the
hair shirts which they were to wear during the forty days of
penance, and sprinkled over them ashes made from the palms
from the previous year. Then, while the faithful recited the
Seven Penitential Psalms, the penitents were turned out of
the church because of their sins -- just as Adam, the first
man, was turned out of Paradise because of his disobedience.
The penitents did not enter the church again until Maundy
Thursday after having won reconciliation by the toil of
forty days' penance and sacramental absolution. Later, all
Christians, whether public or secret penitents, came to
receive ashes out of devotion. In earlier times, the
distribution of ashes was followed by a penitential
procession.
The Ashes
The ashes are made
from the blessed palms used in the Palm Sunday celebration
of the previous year. The ashes are christened with Holy
Water and are scented by exposure to incense. While the
ashes symbolize penance and contrition, they are also a
reminder that God is gracious and merciful to those who call
on Him with repentant hearts. His Divine mercy is of utmost
importance during the season of Lent, and the Church calls
on us to seek that mercy during the entire Lenten season
with reflection, prayer and penance.”
In our prayers this
week: Ann, Gail and Alice (traveling to the Holy Land).
Also, we have several individuals that are awaiting
surgeries for various reasons, so let us keep them in our
prayers as well.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Judson
