Ash Wednesday 2016

Image ID 66012392 © Punyawat Aseetisin | Dreamstime.com

In 2016 Lent (in the Catholic and some Protestant Churches) begins Wednesday 2-10-16. However for Eastern Catholic and Orthodox churches, it begins on "Clean Monday" two days before Ash Wednesday. "Clean Monday is a reminder that we should begin Lent with good intentions and a desire to clean our spiritual house. It is a day of strict fasting for Eastern Catholics, including abstinence not only from meat but from eggs and dairy products as well" (Scott P. Richert, Catholicism Expert).

Lent ends on Holy Saturday one day before before Easter Sunday.    However it  Liturgically ends on Holy Thursday, 3 days before Easter.

So Lent has two beginning dates and two ending dates.  None-the-less it is a time of prayer and fasting and good works as depicted by the "Infographic Elements" illustration above which Humble Blogger purchased for this Blog post.  For Ash Wednesday we focus on the lower left of the illustration showing "40 days",(the length of Lent)  a rosary and a bible (for prayer) and meat with a circle-backslash symbol over it.(fast and abstinence)

The other images in the illustration depict "Holy Week" just before Easter as Jesus Enters Jerusalem on a donkey, celebrates His last supper with his disciples where He institutes the Eucharist, is betrayed by Judas for 40 pieces of silver, is disowned by Peter as a cock crows, is crowned with thorns, suffers, carries his cross and is crucified.

For my previous Ash Wednesday Posts, click on one or more of the following links and click on your Browser back arrow to return here.

2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015