Lent (Biblical)

The season of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, has traditionally been a penitential season, a time of preparation for the commemoration of the events of Jesus' passion, death, and resurrection. Ash Wednesday In the Bible, ashes applied to the body are sometimes a sign of mourning or repentance (2 Sam. 13:19; Est. 4:1; Job 42:6; Dan. 9:35). "Dust and ashes" are symbolic of humiliation or abasement (Gen. 18:27; Job 30:19). However, the use of ashes is not mandated for any annual observance. The medieval practice of marking the forehead of the worshiper with ashes, as a gesture of penitence at the beginning of Lent, was dropped by the Reformers; however, even some Protestant churches are now restoring the imposition of ashes because of its symbolic significance. For many nonliturgical churches, Ash Wednesday may be the occasion of the first of a series of Lenten services. Lent The Christian observance of Lent may have originated as a period of fasting for candidates for baptis…