La Ceniza
by Gaby Morales, posted on 2009-03-04 21:44:17By Gaby Morales
With the 40 days and 40 nights that most Christians call Lent, or Quarezma, we all know that it begins with going to church to get la ceniza, on Ash Wednesday. But do we all know why we receive the ash on our foreheads and the meaning of the scripture recited?
We are told we are dust and ash, and dust and ash we will once again become. The ash symbolizes penance and contrition, they are also a reminder that God is gracious and merciful to those who call on Him with repentant heart.*hyperlink*(http://www.catholic.org/clife/lent/ashwed.php) The ashes are made from the Blessed palm from Palm Sunday. On Ash Wednesday, we come to church to kneel, to pray, and to ask God’s forgiveness. Human sin is universal; we all do it, not only Christians. But our church tradition sets aside Ash Wednesday as a particular day to address sin and death. Ash Wednesday *hyperlink* (http://www.farsinet.com/easter/ash_wednesday.html)is the gateway to Lent. We have forty precious days to open ourselves up most particularly to God, humble our selves, examine ourselves in the presence of One who created us, knows us, and loves us. We have forty days to face ourselves and learn to not be afraid of our sinfulness, forty days and night to make a sacrifice and be as humble as we can, as we remember how humble our Diosito was.
La Cenisa picture courtesy of ; http://worshiphelps.blogs.com/worship_helps/images/ash_wednesday.jpg
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