Catholic Students Are Waiting For Ash Wednesday An author examines how students celebrate Ash Wednesday on campus

Rollins Dartmouth Chapel arranges both religious and non-religious events Ishaan Jajodia & Ishaan Jajodia / The Dartmouth

Once a year, students and teachers remove their hats and show up with various headdresses. They smear their foreheads with dark ashy crosses. On the other hand, the non-celebrating side might assume those people who celebrate are part of an unusual cult. They are observing Ash Wednesday as an essential marker for the beginning of a term of reflection for Christians and Catholics.

Why Catholic students are waiting for Ash Wednesday

People always celebrate Ash Wednesday 46 days before Easter. It will mark the start of Great Lent, which is a solemn commemoration of Jesus’ forty-day fast in the wasteland before the crucifixion. The three principles of Lent are fasting, worship, and alms-giving.

During Lent, the members of the church usually sacrifice that purposely in honor of Jesus dying for humanity. After all, there are also some things that are beneficial for you to take on a determined prayer time that can urge inner contemplation, or volunteering with a non-profit institution permits a person to devote to their society. Every person has their own culture, and it may change from year to year.

Pastor and Ash Wednesday

Pastor Danaher of Aquinas House, Dartmouth catholic student center, admits the nerves that appear with the bearish Lenten time. The Pastor delineates Lent and what it means to us as a community.

If we desire to be disciplined for physically healthy,” I think even more so for spiritual health,” Pastor Danaher stated” The thought of the church is that we will always neglect this amount, so every year we have a sacred season that says in modern” translation:” come on, let’s go.”

Probably, during Lent, you will be able to start listening to Pastor Danaher’s podcast with the beautiful Elizabeth Hadley, 23. You can reach their guest talk podcast that is available on Spotify. Their amusing episodes include serving moments for deeper examination and time to evaluate what is an essential thing in life. My personal attachment to Lent is that it is a session of time committed to development. Sacrifice may not suit you, but increasing your daily habit can boost personal establishment.

During the Ash Wednesday service, the Pastor was blessed with ashes made from palm leaves. Mostly, the palm leaves are used for ashes obtained from previous years’ Palm Sunday celebration. During the celebration, each member of society will come to the altar and receives ashes on their foreheads as a sign of the cross.

When I was little, my peers and I conscientiously analyzed the ashes on my forehead. Is this still the case in Dartmouth? I’ll report back after the congregation on Wednesday. This tradition represents the well-known biblical teaching:” Remember that you are dust, and to dust, you will return.” It’s a great humbling experience that urges people to delineate inwardly and appraise their heart circumstances.