Repent then. If not, I will come to you soon and make war against them with the sword of my mouth.Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.
Rev 2:16-17 (NRSV)
Jesus promises to every single one of us who are followers and are able to conquer the war against wickedness and corruption that we will have a unique name.
So be still and listen and see if you can hear God call your name again, as he has done before and let him show you how to be part of something amazing he is creating.
Almighty God, you called Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the Twelve and through Jesus, you called the twelve apostles. Call us afresh today; name us once more to carry forward your purposes in the world.
A superb episode from the Channel 4 TV programme Countdown. Anyway I found this article by Fr Laurence Freeman:
Counting the days. Children do it when they look forward to something. Prisoners do it as they endure their incarceration. Spiritual pilgrims do it too – in a childlike way and because they are in love with freedom.
The countdown of Lent has started. It is an artificial means – feeling more natural because it is so ancient – for becoming clearer about time and about eternity that is no less here and now. It is, as someone called it, a taste of ‘tempiternity’, time shot through with a bright awareness of the sacred in the ordinary.
It takes time for the ordinary day-to-day mind to be conscious of the movement of change that meditation is steadily driving forward in our deepest being. This is why it doesn’t matter too much what we feel or don’t feel in our spiritual practice. Some days we see its meaning and are enthused. Other days it seems silly and a waste of time. It is the deeper, clearer consciousness, the pure heart, that tells the whole truth.
Whatever Lenten practice you have started, like mediation itself, it is not about being perfect or achieving success. Lets pluck that out of the equation from day one.
We all fail. Everyone starts, stops and starts again. All that matters is faithfulness, coming back. Faithfulness teaches discipline. Discipline frees us from the ego and takes us beyond ourselves into pure consciousness, pure innocence and, in the end, pure love.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of the season of Lent. Ash Wednesday is one of the principal holy days for the Western Church. Most commonly observed by Catholics, Anglicans, Episcopalians, and Lutherans, Ash Wednesday falls on the seventh Wednesday before Easter (usually around February 9). Ash Wednesday begins a season of fasting and repentance (commonly known as Lent) in preparation for the Easter celebration.
On this day, Christians come before a priest to receive the sign of the cross, marked in ashes on their foreheads. Over the next month, they are encouraged to fast, pray, and seek repentance for their sins. Reflection upon one's life during the previous year receives extra attention, and a greater commitment to God and the Church is offered.
This ceremony originated around the eighth century and extends back to the custom during biblical times of people humbling themselves with sackcloth and ashes.
When studying Ash Wednesday history, ashes are often considered to be a symbol of man's mortality and represent an attitude of humility, sorrow, and repentance (Genesis 18:27). The ashes used in the Ash Wednesday ritual come from burning the palm branches used to celebrate Palm Sunday of the previous year. After being blessed with holy water, the ashes sit amidst burning incense to take on a pleasing scent. The priest or highest-ranking Church official administers them, first to the clergy and then to the laity.
In an old Ash Wednesday tradition, penitents who had committed grave sins would come wearing shifts made from rough cloth or animal hair. The priest would bless them and sprinkle ashes over them while they recited the Seven Penitential Psalms. The penitents would leave the church and for the next forty days strive for repentance and absolution. They would then return on Maundy Thursday and receive Communion from the priest.
One of the major tenets of the Christian faith is living one's life with humility and repentance. For many Christians, the origins of Ash Wednesday are the annual reminder of where our hearts should be in relation to God, and of the reason Jesus became our atonement.
Traditionally viewed as a day of repentance, Shrove Tuesday has become the last day for celebration and feasting before the period of fasting required during the Lenten season. The name "Shrove Tuesday" is derived from the word "shrive", which means to confess and receive absolution. The name denotes a period of cleansing, wherein a person brings their lusts and appetites under subjection through abstention and self-sacrifice.
Shrove Tuesday originated during the Middle Ages. As in contemporary times, food items like meats, fats, eggs, milk, and fish were regarded as restricted during Lent. To keep such food from being wasted, many families would have big feasts on Shrove Tuesday in order to consume those items that would inevitably become spoiled during the next forty days. The English tradition of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday came about as a way to use as much milk, fats, and eggs as possible before Ash Wednesday began.
Originally beginning on Sunday, Shrove Tuesday was a three-day celebration that culminated in large feasts on Tuesday night. By the beginning of the 20th century, however, the event was restricted to the Tuesday observance.
Shrove Tuesday has a variety of customs that have derived from different regions around Europe and the Americas. As previously mentioned, England began the tradition of serving pancakes, and for this reason the day is known as "Pancake Day". In addition, there are the annual Pancake Day Races, where contestants dress in aprons and scarves and race down a course flipping a pancake in a frying pan or skillet.
In Eastern Europe, the Carnival celebrations include boisterous processions where people in large masks parade around and play jokes on bystanders. The masks are often caricatures of individuals from traditional folklore. Men and women will dress as one another and engage in gendered mimicry. The day is filled with eating, drinking, fortune telling, and practical jokes.
For many Protestant believers, Shrove Tuesday holds no particular significance. For Catholics and Anglicans, however, the day is still observed with confession and absolution, in addition to modest feasting and rejoicing.
"To be free is to be in love, is to be in the truth of God. The one who loves because made free by the truth of God, is the most revolutionary person on earth."Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1932
