DAY 1 - Ash Wednesday

     Ash Wednesday is a tradition of the Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian,Catholic and Anglican churches at the start of Lent. According to http://www.catholic.org/clife/lent/story.php?id=40609  "Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of church congregants as a sign of repentance" I was always taught that the ashes were a reminder that we are made from ashes and to ashes we will return, from dust to dust (Gen 3:19)  I fasted and abstained from meat as well as went to church today. My Priest told us during mass that the tradition of the ashes is an ancient tradition that started with the Jewish people... it was, as I have said, a sign of penance.  
     Now, I don't want any one thinking that the ashes are those of dead people or something. No, the ashes put on our foreheads are the ashes of last year's palm fronds from Palm Sunday, but they can also be bought online at religious supply stores. (Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter... celebrates Jesus' journey through Jerusalem for Passover the week before he was betrayed.)  At the end of the day, the fronds are burned and then blessed again as ashes. You may be asking why the Chruch burns the fronds.... Once they have been blessed, the palms become sacramentals, or sacred signs instituted by the Church. Since these sacramentals should be treated with respect, the only way to get rid of them is to either bury or burn them. Thus, the ashes.

     This was one of the prayers we said at church tonight: "God our Father, you create us from the dust of the earth. Grant that these ashes may be for us a sign of our penitence, and a symbol of our mortality."

   Fasting Rules for Lent: Practicing Christians must fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday along with every Friday between now and Easter. If you are between the ages of 18 and 59 you must fast and are permitted to consume only one full meal, but that can be supplemented by two smaller meals for your fast. You can fast all day, but the two smaller meals are for those who need the extra nutrients to make it throughout the day.... we don't want people passing out around the world...