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| Woman wears face covering on Ash Wednesday Photo 209763492 © Vetre Antanaviciute-meskauskiene | Dreamstime.com |
The Season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday February 17, 2021 for Catholics and other Christian faiths. Ashes (from Palm leaves) are placed on a person's forehead to remind them "For dust you are and dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19) It extends for 40 days of penance, prayer, fasting and good works ending on Holy Saturday just before Easter Sunday April 4. We've probably had enough penance, being mostly confined to our homes for more than a year because of Coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions. We do however, need to fast more than a bit because the year of inactivity has widened our beltlines by 1 to 3 inches! In the copyrighted photo above, purchased for use in this blog, the masked woman's forehead shows a nicely drawn cross of ashes. This Ash Wednesday our St. Mary of the Lake, Parish in White Bear Lake, MN has decided to minimize physical contact with the parishioner and thus minimize the spread of Covid-19 by sprinkling some ashes on the person's forehead instead of applying the ashes with the touch of a finger or thumb.
