Ash Wednesday: A Call For Spiritual Reflection And Renewal
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DahvidC -
March 6, 2025 at 11:03 AM -
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Ash Wednesday: A Call For Spiritual Reflection And Renewal
It’s Ash Wednesday, and while for some here in Trinidad and Tobago it signals the end of the Carnival season, the day is in fact considered one of the most popular and important holy days in the liturgical calendar for many Christians.
It’s a day the faithful flock to the traditional Ash Wednesday rites at Roman Catholic churches across the country as the Lenten season begins.
At the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Port of Spain, where one of dozens of Ash Wednesday services took place, Deacon Roland Joseph explained the meaning of the annual Lenten rites and the church’s traditional period of repentance and fasting to students and staff from the Nelson Street Girls RC, Nelson Street Boys RC, and Bethlehem Boys RC schools.
He spoke about abstinence from meat, the need to keep your fasting, and what you give up for the period between God and yourself.
“When we make that sacrifice, we are saying to God, ‘Father, I am serious about Lent, I am serious about my life with you, I am serious that I will pray more, I am serious that I will do more in my life to really make this Lenten season more meaningful to me.'”
Deacon Joseph reminded the adults that the children around them will follow their example.
“Teachers and children, we are really asking that you follow the Lord our God with all your heart and all your soul and mind, and to give of yourself in this Lenten season, and this Lenten season will be truly fruitful only if you put into it.”
Ash Wednesday opens Lent, a season of fasting and prayer, in preparation for the celebration of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Priests administer ashes during Mass, and all are invited to accept the ashes as a visible symbol of penance. The ashes are made from blessed palm branches, taken from the previous year’s Palm Sunday Mass.
