faith | The Tony Burgess Blog

Ash Wednesday is one of the most popular and important holy days in the liturgical calendar. Ash Wednesday opens Lent, a season of fasting and prayer.

Ash Wednesday takes place 46 days before Easter Sunday.

Ash Wednesday comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting. The practice includes the wearing of ashes on the head. The ashes symbolize the dust from which God made us. As the priest applies the ashes to a person’s forehead, he speaks the words: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (From Catholic Online)

I am an Episcopalian and tonight I will go to my parish, St. Peters Episcopal to receive ashes and to begin my personal journey in this Lenten season. I think its important to share experiences like this that makes ones faith story real. For many its giving up something or fasting during this season but some take on new things to bring them closer to Christ and to make the world a better place.

The Episcopal Church has a prayer and scripture readings about today, click here to check it out.

To my brothers and sisters in the faith I walk with you during this time. To everyone may God bless and keep you.

Religion for many has become all about sin instead of doing something different like bringing people together who have different lives and ideas. Religion can be used to promote community and change instead of tearing our world apart. I think developing relationships with one’s higher power and other people of faith can also be a good thing for the world.

I am a unapologetic believer in that faith should rooted in the reality of today and that people should have have an abundance of love, grace, peace. People should have the freedom to be who they are and secure in the knowledge that God created them to be who they are. I also think that God’s story is still being written in the here and now.

If someone tells you that your faith isn’t strong enough because it doesn’t fit into their view of what faith should be then tell them you are working out your relationship with God/Higher Power in a way that makes sense to you. Each person is to work out their relationship with fear and trembling.