Hey Deacon!

It’s hard to believe that Ash Wednesday is right around the corner, celebrated this year on March 5, 2025. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent, but what exactly does that mean and how can we participate in the different traditions and customs. 

First, Lent is a kind of annual retreat for all Christians. We spiritually “venture into the desert” for forty days, just as Jesus did when he sought that quiet, alone time to prepare for his public ministry (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-15, Luke 4:1-14). During Lent, we renew our life of faith and service for the coming year, and we prepare our hearts to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus at Easter. Lent 101 There are three traditional pillars of Lent: prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. Christians are encouraged to participate in all three areas to help increase their awareness of, dependence upon, and relationship with God. 

Common Lenten prayer practices could include taking up a new spiritual discipline; examples include spending time in silence each day, reading Scripture or other spiritual books, appreciating the beauty of God’s creation, practicing different devotionals like the Stations of the Cross, or attending additional liturgies such as a daily Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or Eucharistic Adoration. During Lent, we (re)prioritize our relationship with the Lord and place Him at the center of our lives. 

Almsgiving also acknowledges God as the source of all life. Everything that we are and have comes from God. Rather than selfishly keeping those gifts to ourselves, we are called to share them. Some people give alms by donating money, others might donate goods to a local charity, or by giving of their time to a charitable cause. 

As for fasting, the main objective for a Christian is to fast from sin. That’s right…fast from sin. We might devote extra attention during Lent to overcoming some sinful behavior that leads us away from God. Alternatively, we might deny ourselves some common pleasure that is not sinful in and of itself (ex. social media, caffeine, alcohol, snacking between meals, etc.). Fasting from these things increases our reliance upon God: in cutting out non-essential parts of our lives, we can replace that time with opportunities for prayer or almsgiving. So, what does Ash Wednesday have to do with Lent? 

If we look at the Old Testament, ashes represent repentance. Open your bible to Job 42:6, Jeremiah 6:26, Daniel 9:3, or Jonah 3:6-8. They each provide a desire of renewal by covering themselves with or sitting in ashes. This ancient practice was a sign of humility, recalling that God forms humans from the “dust of the earth.” 

On Ash Wednesday Christians receive ashes on their forehead in the sign of the cross, a symbol of their commitment to spiritual renewal during Lent. When receiving the imposition of ashes, we hear one of the following two formulae: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return, or “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” Both phrases cultivate a sense of dependence on God and reveal our constant need for conversion and renewal of our faith. 

Author Bio:
 Deacon Dan Vaughn