Vincentians attend Ash Wednesday Service ( including video)
The service, which was held during the lunch hour, was celebrated by the Very Reverend C Leopold Friday, Anglican Bishop of the Windward Islands, assisted by Father Hanif H R Johnson and several ordained deacons and lay ministers.
Ash Wednesday, which marks the first day of the Lenten season is observed as a Holy Day by many Western Christians, particularly Roman Catholics and Anglicans. It occurs 46 days (Lent consists of 40 fasting days, plus six Sundays, which are not considered days of fast) before Easter and can fall as early as February 4 or as late as March 10.
According to the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus Christ spent 40 days fasting in the desert, where he endured temptation by Satan. Lent originated as a mirroring of this, with believers fasting for 40 days in preparation for Easter. Therefore during this time, some people abstain from certain activities or give up certain foods or pleasures.
Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of blessing ashes made from palm branches blessed on the previous year’s Palm Sunday, and placing the ash, in the shape of a cross on the foreheads of participants to the accompaniment of the words “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return”.
An Ash Wednesday midday service was also held at the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Kingstown.
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