EMN
Dimapur, February 10
The most important season in the Catholic liturgical calendar is the season of lent which begins with ‘Ash Wednesday. It was solemnity observed in all the Catholic Churches, including those in Nagaland.
Most Rev. Dr. James Thoppil, Bishop of Kohima, was the main celebrant for the morning service in the Catholic Cathedral Church, Kohima along with other priests. The second service in the evening was officiated Rev. Fr. Carolus Neisalhou, Vicar General of the diocese.
In his address, the bishop said that the Lent was a time when Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline for forty days. The smearing of ashes on the forehead is the sign of conversion, penance, fasting and human mortality, the organizers stated in a press release on Wednesday informing about the event.
The day receives its special name from the blessing and imposition of ashes in the form of a cross on the foreheads with the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” or “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” The act of putting on ashes symbolizes fragility and mortality, and the need to be redeemed by the mercy of God. Far from being a merely external act, the Church has retained the use of ashes to symbolize the attitude of internal penance to which all the baptized are called particularly during the season of Lent.
“Lent also recalls the forty days of our Lord’s fasting in the desert, which He undertook before entering into His public ministry. We read in the Gospel: ‘Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry’ (Mt 4,1-2),” the press release from the organizers stated. Like Moses, who fasted before receiving the tablets of the Law (cf. Ex 34,28) and Elijah’s fast before meeting the Lord on Mount Horeb (cf. 1 Kings19,8), Jesus, too, through prayer and fasting, prepared Himself for the mission that lay before Him, marked at the start by a serious battle with the tempter.
The bishop also exhorted the community that while ‘fasting from certain things, they must feast on other things: Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ dwelling in others.’
The press release stated: “Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of all life. Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude. Fast from anger; feast on patience. Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation. Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness. Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others. Fast from idle gossip; feast on the purposeful silence. Fast from personal anxiety; feast on unceasing prayer. The traditional practice of fasting, prayer and almsgiving are ways to discipline oneself and to give priority to building intimate spiritual relationship with God, the source and end of everything.”
The most important days in the season of Lent apart from Ash Wednesday, are Palm Sunday, Maundy or Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, leading to the glorious Easter.
