Ash Trueching initiates Christian’s 40-day prayer, fasting, weapons and self-control.
Nigeria News Nalin Today’s Christian world is reportedly beginning 40 days of prayer, fasting, weapons and self-restraint, and self-restraint along with Wednesday’s ashes. This religious activity allows humans to die through the ritual of placing ashes on their foreheads.
Lent is a season in the Christian calendar, when faithfulness focused on simple life, praying and fasting to grow spiritually and get closer to God. It is a period where one can purify oneself in the preparation of the passion week, which is the pinnacle of three important events – the priesthood and Eucharist on Holy Thursday, the death and death of our Lord and Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, the death and death of Jesus Christ and the Savior on Good Friday, and his mountains on Good Friday, and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.
On this holy day, Christians keep admonishing to remember their death, repent of sin, and return to God with regret. During this period, faithful faithfulness inevitably succumbs to the real life, that is, life is a precious gift from God and consciously directs their lives to Jesus Christ. During this period, Christians make decisions and work to change their lives to make them more like Christ. Christians, especially Catholics, among the Ashes Wednesday crowd, the presidency marked the sign of the cross on the forehead of the believer, and the ashes were mixed with holy oil or water to remind us that “we are dust, we will return.”
The use of ashes pre-Christian use and dates back to the Jewish era. In the Jewish and Christian tradition, Ash represents death and repentance. Mortality because when we die, our bodies eventually break down and turn into dust/dust/ash/anything. “Your dust, you are going to come back.” Repent, because long ago, when people felt remorseful of what they did, they would put their ashes on their heads and wear sacks to remind themselves of their sins and their discomfort and cause the death of the Holy Spirit. This is their way of confessing their sins and atoneing for them.
In this religious event, the ashes are also unique because it comes from more than any palm leaf. It comes specifically from the palm leaves used on the previous year’s Palm Sunday, or the victory entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, which marked the beginning of Passion Week, which led to his Good Friday on Good Friday and added his resurrection to Easter Sunday Easter.
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, and people waved their hands and cheered him on. Those palms pray and sprinkle with holy water to make them sacraments. In the Catholic Church, sacraments are objects, acts or rituals that express religious devotion. That palm leaf is considered one and is preserved until the next Lent. Jesus waved in the ashes during Lent as those palm leaves were burned and blessed Wednesday. Burn the palms from the palms Sunday after the bishop’s pastor prays, burn them, and mix them with a small amount of oil or water to make it symbolic.
Among the ashes on Wednesday, there is a compulsory stand up and the faithful will stand up to get ashes. The pastor will make a small cross on their foreheads by staining the ashes – outward signs of grace. While the ashes remind us of our mortality and sin, the cross reminds us of Jesus’ resurrection (life after death) and forgiveness. It is a powerful, nonverbal way to experience God’s forgiveness and renewal when we return to Jesus.
The four dates of 40 days brought Christians back to the baptism of Jesus, and when the sky opened, the Spirit of God (looks like a dove), came upon Jesus, and the voice of heaven said, “This is my Son, my beloved, and I am glad.” Then, as Matthew 4:1-11 says, Jesus was sent into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, where he fasted and prayed for 40 days. During his time, he was tempted by Satan and discovered clarity and strength to resist temptation. Afterwards, he was about to start his ground ministry.
Lent is a good time to repent – return to God and refocus your life more in line with Jesus. This is a 40-day trial to change your lifestyle and let God change your heart. It involves fasting, having no food for a few days, skipping meals and abstinence. It also involves cutting down on things that distract God in a person’s life. It requires service and weapons. Serving others is a way for us to serve God and we should learn how to give ourselves in prayer. It is a time of intense prayer and a way to get along with God.
As the nation faces difficulties in every field, it is a suitable time to quickly, pray and invite God’s divine intervention in our situation. The Bible warns us that if we call God in difficult times, He will hear and answer us. The same is true.
