Christianity's holiest season begins today

After indulging in the excesses of food and fun during Mardi Gras season, today many Tri-City area residents will line the aisles of their churches to receive ashes marking the first day of Lent.

Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, which lasts for 40 days, not counting Saturdays and Sundays.

“Ash Wednesday is a formal beginning of Lent where we truly say, ‘OK, I need to withdraw from the things of the world and prepare for the coming of the greatest mystery …,’” said the Rev. William Rogalla, pastor of St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Bayou Vista.

It “is a time we stop and we remember, as the ashes are placed on our forehead, we are dust and to the dust we shall return,” Rogalla said. “We remember that this life is fleeting, and we are completely dependent upon God.”

Traditionally, the ashes come from the burning and blessing of last year’s Palm Sunday leaves. Later, ashes are mixed with olive oil and water in order to stick to the skin during Ash Wednesday service.

Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter.

“We use palms to symbolize when Jesus entered Jerusalem before he was crucified,” said the Rev. Doug Lassiter, pastor of Trinity Episcopal Church in Morgan City.

In the Old Testament, putting on ashes and sackcloth is a “sign of repentance, a sign of mourning, of asking God for renewal and preparation for God’s grace,” Rogalla said.

For Lassiter, the imposition of ashes reminds people “where their creation ends and where it has its beginning. …

“It’s a time of reflection, a time of repentance,” Lassiter said. “That’s why you hear people say, ‘I’m giving up something for Lent.’ It’s a time of sacrifice and self-reflection.

“But it’s also a time for Christians to reflect on what Christ has done for us and who we are as Christians and how we can better ourselves during this period of time,” Lassiter said.

Lent is symbolic of the time Jesus spent in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights.

He went into the wilderness for 40 days by himself and was tempted by Satan during those 40 days, Lassiter said.

“Jesus went off by himself to pray, to rejuvenate, and to reflect,” Lassiter said.

While some people profess to give up things for Lent, Lassiter suggests picking up a positive habit as an alternative.

“You don’t have to give things up,” Lassiter said. “Some people take things on.

“Before I became a priest, long before seminary, one of the things I used to do as a Lenten practice or discipline was ‘I will say morning prayer every morning when I wake up’ and to this day, every morning I wake up and say a morning prayer.”

His practice has now become a habit.

“It helps me understand my day,” Lassiter said. “It gets me focused. That’s really what it’s all about, in my estimation.”

As the Lenten season begins, “we want to open our hearts, our minds, our souls to love God even more than we already do today,” Rogalla said. “Each day we are called to conversion and reconversion over and over again.”