Ash Wednesday And Lent

Ash Wednesday is a day of repentance that starts the Season of Lent. Roman Catholic Churches, as well as other denominations, including Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican and Methodist churches, observe the holy day. While the details of observances vary throughout denominations, Ash Wednesday signifies the sorrow of sin and the regret that Christians feel for the sins they have committed throughout the year. The wearing of the ashen cross continues to be an outward demonstration of the penance. In the Western Christian calendar, the day falls 46 days before Easter, counting Sundays. Depending on the year, it may be as early as February 4 or as late as March 10. This year, it falls on March 9. The origins of Ash Wednesday can be found in the Bible, according to About.com . While the specific holiday is not ordered in Bible, believers use ashes as symbols of repentance and mourning in 2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1; Job 2:8; Daniel 9:3; and Matthew 11:21. 

Lent is a special time of prayer, penance, sacrifice and good works in preparation of the celebration of Easter. In the desire to renew the liturgical practices of the Church, The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of Vatican Council II stated, "The two elements which are especially characteristic of Lent -- the recalling of baptism or the preparation for it, and penance -- should be given greater emphasis in the liturgy and in liturgical catechesis. It is by means of them that the Church prepares the faithful for the celebration of Easter, while they hear God's word more frequently and devote more time to prayer" (no. 109). The word Lent itself is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words lencten, meaning "Spring," and lenctentid, which literally means not only "Springtide" but also was the word for "March," the month in which the majority of Lent falls. Since the earliest times of the Church, there is evidence of some kind of Lenten preparation for Easter. For instance, St. Irenaeus (d. 203) wrote to Pope St. Victor I, commenting on the celebration of Easter and the differences between practices in the East and the West: "The dispute is not only about the day, but also about the actual character of the fast.