On the occasion of Ash Wednesday, Catholics across the city will be reminded of this homily.
“Remember that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return.” On the occasion of Ash Wednesday, Catholics across the city will be reminded of this homily.
This is the day marking the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of prayer, sacrifice, penance and good work in preparation for Easter. Ash will be pasted on the foreheads of churchgoers on Tuesday, and they are expected to retain this until it wears off on its own.
Lent is considered to be an intense period of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Father Joe D’Souza, parish priest at St Ignatius Church, Jacob Circle, says, “While imposing the ash on a person’s forehead, we can either say - ‘Remember that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return’ or “Repent and believe in the gospel.’ I prefer using the latter, as I feel that during this 40-day period, people should read the Bible and pray a bit more than at other times. Besides, during Lent every church conducts a ‘Way of the Cross’, mostly on Fridays, wherein the entire congregation is reminded about the passion of Jesus Christ.”
Most people are seen fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
“Fasting entails that a person consumes just one full meal in a day. Easter is the most important feast of the Christians, and during Lent every Catholic is expected to prepare for it through prayers, penance and almsgiving. Sundays are excluded from the 40-days of Lent as each Sunday in Lent is considered to be a mini-Easter,” says Bertho Barretto, parish priest of Immaculate Conception Church in Borivali.
During the period of Lent, several Catholics do not consume meat on Fridays. Not just that, there are a few who give up any kind of addiction they have as well.
Father Salavdor Rodrigues, parish priest of St Michael’s Church in Mahim, says, “People prepare for the grand feast of Easter and the coming of Jesus through fasting, penance, abstinence.”
Father Timothy M. Raj, parish priest of St Francis De Sales church in Koperkhairane, says: “Lent is a time of renewal for Catholics. It is that time wherein people should turn away from evil and do good. Today the church is more relaxed, and asks people to observe a fast or keep abstinence only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. During the remaining 40 days, it’s up to the discretion of the devotees whether to abstain from something they like or not.”
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