Today, the Christian community will be observing Ash Wednesday – the first day of Lent, a 40-day period of reflection and fasting leading up to Easter. This is another reminder that Guyana is a multireligious society.
Today, the Christian community starts a period of cleansing the soul and the body as Lent begins, as Ash Wednesday is considered an important part of repentance, renewing commitment to their faith.
The Lenten season is a period of introspection and repentance. It also serves as a time for service to humanity through acts of selflessness. The 40 days of Lent do not include the Sundays, because for Christians, every Sunday marks the resurrection of Jesus.
Ash Wednesday is a time when Christians prepare themselves for penance. In the Old Testament, Ash Wednesday is the commencement of Christians’ penance and a period to turn away from sins. Anglican Priest Reverend Fr Monsell Alves in explaining this to Guyana Times had said: “The visible sign of repentance is the ashes. So, when someone sees you crossed with ashes, it’s supposed to speak to them in two ways – I need repentance and it is a public expression of that person’s Christian faith. When you repent, you once again come into a relationship to believe in God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
Every Friday during the Lenten season, there is a Lenten devotion called Stations of the Cross – chronicling Jesus’s journey from trial to crucifixion.
Stations of the Cross are a series of 14 images depicting the events outlining Christ’s journey to the cross. The first of the 14 Stations of the Cross is: Condemnation of Jesus Christ to death. It is followed by Jesus bearing the cross; The First Fall – Jesus falls the first time under the cross; His Mother – Jesus meets his blessed mother; Simon of Cyrene – the cross is laid on Simon of Cyrene; Veronica – the face of Jesus is wiped by St Veronica; The Second Fall – Jesus falls the second time; Daughters Of Jerusalem – the women of Jerusalem mourn for our Lord; The Third Fall – Jesus falls for the third time; Stripped – Jesus is stripped of his garments; Nailed – Jesus is nailed to the cross; Crucified – Jesus dies on the cross; Dead – the body of Jesus is taken down from the cross, and Buried – the body of Jesus is laid in the tomb.
The images are usually mounted on the inside walls of a church, but they are not confined to the building.
The exercise of visiting and praying at each of the stations stems from the early practice of Christian pilgrims. It is believed that the pilgrims visited the scenes of the events that happened in Jerusalem on the first Good Friday and took the same route as Jesus did on that fateful day.
Today as priests administer the ashes, the following words will be said: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return”, signalling to people that they should start their period of fasting and introspection.
Even as the Chirstian community begins this period of introspection, all Guyanese too should join in introspection to examine where we are sowing seeds of division and hate, stymieing development or contributing to injustice, and ultimately seek to make a change for the positive.
If one can recall, in one of his addresses in celebration of Guyana’s Republic Anniversary, President Dr Irfaan Ali had said: “We cannot love God and hate each other. We cannot love Guyana or be part of the “One Guyana” family by sowing seeds of division and divisiveness. We must value education, health, justice, freedom, equality, and respect by ensuring equitable access, fairness, and investment that will allow all our people to benefit, and our love for each other must be built on a foundation of respect, real decency, and dignity.”
