Lent – A Ritual Worth “Giving Up”
Note: This a re-post of something I wrote a few years ago
For those of the “christian” faith, and i use that term “christian” loosely (you’ll find out why in a couple paragraphs), you’re familiar with the terms “Lent” and “Ash Wednesday“. For those who need some history, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent and occurs forty days before Easter (excluding Sundays). Ash Wednesday gets its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful as a sign of repentance. The ashes used are gathered after the Palm Crosses from the previous year’s Palm Sunday are burned. (more info about AW here)
I understand the significance of lent and ash wednesday, but from an early age as a child of Catholic parents, I’ve always had a problem with these observances (at face value). And as I aged, matured, and developed a greater understanding of God and my relationship with Him, my view of these practices and this time of year has only been reinforced.
