Christians observe Ash Wednesday; begin 40 days of Lent Season.

By Gideon Peter Ssebulime

17^th February 2021

Christians across the world have on Wednesday commenced the 40 days Lenten season by observing the Ash Wednesday.

Lent is an important period in the Christian calendar in the build up to Easter Sunday and the festival is part of the church’s liturgical year which included advent in December and other major Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter.

It’s observed by individuals from various churches and sect of Christianity including the Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists and the Reformed whole over the world.

In the Catholic Church, the observance of the lent season is based on three important pillars include; fasting, almsgiving and repentance.

Normally, Priests smear ashes on the foreheads of the Christians but this time round the norm has changed by having the followers receiving ashes in their hands and does the ritual by them to avoid person to person contact that leads to the spread of Covid-19.

Pope Francis the head of the Roman Catholic Church who superintends to over 1.2 billion followers world over, in his message on Ash Wednesday has warned over consumerism not only in material things but also in massive information that is confusing the society, lots of true and falsehood. This call is directed to Christians to seek for God’s intervention to choose the right information.

He reminds people to have faith in Christ in whatever challenging situation they may go through, citing Jesus’ walk to Jerusalem that had the victorious entry which later culminated into suffering, death and resurrection. He says that this saved and gave dignity to human kind and hope.

In his homily, on Wednesday at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican for the Ash Mass, Pope Francis has said that Lent is a journey of returning to God and an opportunity to deepen love for one another as brothers and sisters.

At the Uganda Catholic Secretariat Nsambya in the Ash Wednesday mass attended by all the staff, led by the Director Caritas Uganda Msgr. Francis Ndamira who reminded them to have decision making based on God’s voice right from the heart, reflecting on the gospel and the papal message.