| 3/2/2017 4:13:02 PM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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freegratis
Irving, TX
50, joined Dec. 2011
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| 1. Yes |
| 2. No |
| 3. We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit |
Has the Holy Spirit brought to mind Matthew 6:1-18 on Ash Wednesday for you too?
Do you get concerned when Jesus says, "They have their reward", as in verse 16?
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| 3/2/2017 4:53:09 PM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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ludlowlowell
Panama City, FL
65, joined Feb. 2008
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This passage means that we should fast and give alms with a cheerful spirit, not gloomy like hypocrites do. It means, not that we have to keep fasting and alms-giving a secret (that would be impossible), but that we should not going around bragging about it or thinking that we are better than other people because we do these things.
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| 3/2/2017 5:00:22 PM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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ludlowlowell
Panama City, FL
65, joined Feb. 2008
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Q. Is a passage read from one of the gospels read at every daily and Sunday Mass?
A. Yes.
Q. What gospel passage is read every year on Ash Wednesday?
A. Precisely the passage Freegratis brought up---Matthew 6:1-6 and 16-18. There is a right way to fast, or do other penance, or to do alms-giving, and a wrong way.
[Edited 3/2/2017 5:01:21 PM ]
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| 3/2/2017 5:22:35 PM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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clarity101
Aurora, CO
66, joined Oct. 2008
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"What is Ash Wednesday?"
Answer: Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. Its official name is “Day of Ashes,” so called because of the practice of rubbing ashes on one’s forehead in the sign of a cross. Since it is exactly 40 days (excluding Sundays) before Easter Sunday, it will always fall on a Wednesday—there cannot be an “Ash Thursday” or “Ash Monday.” The Bible never mentions Ash Wednesday—for that matter, it never mentions Lent.
Lent is intended to be a time of self-denial, moderation, fasting, and the forsaking of sinful activities and habits. Ash Wednesday commences this period of spiritual discipline. Ash Wednesday and Lent are observed by most Catholics and some Protestant denominations. The Eastern Orthodox Church does not observe Ash Wednesday; instead, they start Lent on “Clean Monday.”
While the Bible does not mention Ash Wednesday, it does record accounts of people in the Old Testament using dust and ashes as symbols of repentance and/or mourning (2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1; Job 2:8; Daniel 9:3). The modern tradition of rubbing a cross on a person’s forehead supposedly identifies that person with Jesus Christ.
Should a Christian observe Ash Wednesday? Since the Bible nowhere explicitly commands or condemns such a practice, Christians are at liberty to prayerfully decide whether or not to observe Ash Wednesday.
If a Christian decides to observe Ash Wednesday and/or Lent, it is important to have a biblical perspective. Jesus warned us against making a show of our fasting: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen” (Matthew 6:16-18). We must not allow spiritual discipline to become spiritual pride.
It is a good thing to repent of sinful activities, but that’s something Christians should do every day, not just during Lent. It’s a good thing to clearly identify oneself as a Christian, but, again, this should be an everyday identification. And it is good to remember that no ritual can make one’s heart right with God.
Ash Wednesday Calendar:
2017 – March 1
2018 – February 14
2019 – March 6
2020 – February 26
Recommended Resource: The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas
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| 3/2/2017 5:30:10 PM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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ludlowlowell
Panama City, FL
65, joined Feb. 2008
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Good post, Clarity. For once we agree totally.
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| 3/2/2017 8:40:02 PM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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bigd9832
Chicago, IL
64, joined Oct. 2007
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"Ash Wednesday" and "Lent" are not Scriptural terms. These are man-made events.
CLV 2Tim 1:13 Have a pattern of sound words, which you hear from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
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| 3/2/2017 11:21:58 PM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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iam_resurrected
Reno, NV
47, joined Jul. 2014
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sackcloth and ashes were for mourning.
why are you mourning the death of Christ?
where is the logic behind that by practicing his death when it was his resurrection that matters since it brings forth life after death.
you can celebrate his death by communion, not by painting yourself in something that represents the dead and mourning.
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| 3/3/2017 3:05:47 AM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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share_n_love
Fort Wayne, IN
62, joined Dec. 2012
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sackcloth and ashes were for mourning.
why are you mourning the death of Christ?
where is the logic behind that by practicing his death when it was his resurrection that matters since it brings forth life after death.
you can celebrate his death by communion, not by painting yourself in something that represents the dead and mourning.
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| 3/3/2017 5:00:14 AM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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cupocheer
Assumption, IL
68, joined May. 2010
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Good morning all.
You, too, Share_n_
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| 3/3/2017 5:40:01 AM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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ludlowlowell
Panama City, FL
65, joined Feb. 2008
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sackcloth and ashes were for mourning.
why are you mourning the death of Christ?
where is the logic behind that by practicing his death when it was his resurrection that matters since it brings forth life after death.
you can celebrate his death by communion, not by painting yourself in something that represents the dead and mourning.
The Christian spiritual life is a life of participation in the life of Christ, so the Church emphasizes different aspects of Jesus' life throughout the year. At Christmas we celebrate His birth (no, we don't know the exact day He was born for sure), during Lent, His voing out into the desert for forty days and His suffering and death, during the Easter season (Easter and the next forty days) His resurrection, and in the month of June His Sacred Heart.
During Lent we are not supposed to be morbid or gloomy, as the scripture passage in this thread's OP tells us, but we should be thinking about how much our Savior did for us, and how much he suffered. You might say it's like Memorial Day---nobody gets morbid, but we appreciate our soldiers' sacrifice.
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| 3/3/2017 9:14:20 AM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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iam_resurrected
Reno, NV
47, joined Jul. 2014
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The Christian spiritual life is a life of participation in the life of Christ, so the Church emphasizes different aspects of Jesus' life throughout the year. At Christmas we celebrate His birth (no, we don't know the exact day He was born for sure), during Lent, His voing out into the desert for forty days and His suffering and death, during the Easter season (Easter and the next forty days) His resurrection, and in the month of June His Sacred Heart.
During Lent we are not supposed to be morbid or gloomy, as the scripture passage in this thread's OP tells us, but we should be thinking about how much our Savior did for us, and how much he suffered. You might say it's like Memorial Day---nobody gets morbid, but we appreciate our soldiers' sacrifice.
when did Christ put ashes on him over the death of let's say john the Baptist?
never.
he praised John for doing his job greater than any before him and then let him die so Jesus could move into his ministry.
so, we are to celebrate not form the act of mourning.
to mourn is to bring blasphemy on the beauty of what Christ did on the cross.
in fact, once Christ told the disciples he was going to die soon it says he led them to be slaughtered.
so, Christ led the journey to his own death.
that means he knew it meant victory.
where is the victory by celebrating the mourning?
mourning means you lost not have victory.
your practices are so inherited wrong there is no rep of God in it.
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| 3/3/2017 10:07:58 AM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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ludlowlowell
Panama City, FL
65, joined Feb. 2008
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On Memorial Day we remember the sacrifice our soldiers made. On V-J Day they celebrated the victory. During Lent we remember Christ's suffering and death. On Easter Sunday and during the Easter season (the next forty days) we celebrate the victory.
"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a...a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;"
--Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 and 3:4
As far as ashes go, they are a sign of repentance. See Daniel 9:3, Jonah 3:6, Matthew 11:21, Luke 10:13 among others.
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| 3/3/2017 12:42:10 PM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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isna_la_wica
Brantford, ON
63, joined Mar. 2012
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I see nothing wrong with remembering the 40 days Jesus who was with out sin, spent time fasting and praying in the wilderness for those of us that have sin.
I my self do not practice the ritual with ashes, but fail to see any thing wrong with doing so. And as for Lent, I do observe it but do not say one way or the other, as to how, I believe that is between our selves and the Lord.
Matthew 6:16-18 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Something like "personal prayer" should be kept between your self and the Lord.
But this common prayer, captures what it is all about:
"Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent, create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission
and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ. Amen."
So to all those who practice Lent? I hope you have a blessed one.
And for those that do not? I wish you a happy time of complaining about those that do. After all, its a long time between complaining about Christmas and then Easter, so happiness must be hard to come by around this time of year.
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| 3/3/2017 1:08:18 PM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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ludlowlowell
Panama City, FL
65, joined Feb. 2008
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Many Protestants do observe Lent. I heard that my old denomination, Methodist, now has an Ash Wednesday service where ashes are applied to foreheads, just like in Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches.
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| 3/3/2017 8:34:48 PM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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bigd9832
Chicago, IL
64, joined Oct. 2007
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The ritual of dressing the church for Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday can be quite spectacular. It seems many of the church people live for these days of the year. There can be many different activities surrounding these days.
I do enjoy the elaborate dressings and the before-Easter activities. I have often gone on a retreat during that time.
Having said that, we must keep in mind that Lent, Easter, Good Friday, and Ash Wednesday are not Scriptural.
I believe that the Holy Spirit can teach and lead us any time of year.
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| 3/8/2017 4:24:23 AM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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share_n_love
Fort Wayne, IN
62, joined Dec. 2012
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when did Christ put ashes on him over the death of let's say john the Baptist?
never.
he praised John for doing his job greater than any before him and then let him die so Jesus could move into his ministry.
so, we are to celebrate not form the act of mourning.
to mourn is to bring blasphemy on the beauty of what Christ did on the cross.
in fact, once Christ told the disciples he was going to die soon it says he led them to be slaughtered.
so, Christ led the journey to his own death.
that means he knew it meant victory.
where is the victory by celebrating the mourning?
mourning means you lost not have victory.
your practices are so inherited wrong there is no rep of God in it.
Nicely put...
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| 3/8/2017 12:03:06 PM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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ludlowlowell
Panama City, FL
65, joined Feb. 2008
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If it is wrong to mourn why did Jesus weep at the death of Lazarus?
But ashes is not about mourning anyway. It is about repentance. In both testaments we have examples of people wearing sackcloth and covering themselves with ashes as a sign of remorse for sin and of repentance from sin.
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| 3/16/2017 10:12:01 PM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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cupocheer
Assumption, IL
68, joined May. 2010
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Get Ready
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| 5/30/2017 8:53:58 AM |
The Holy Spirit Teaches About Ash Wednesday? |
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cupocheer
Assumption, IL
68, joined May. 2010
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