Catholics worldwide began the 40 days Lenten period on Wednesday 5, 2025 ahead of Easter season which will culminate with marking the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The lent season that mainly emphasizes repentance, prayer and alms giving, starts with Ash Wednesday which falls exactly 46 days before Good Friday.
Notably, Ash Wednesday marks the first day of the 40 days Lenten period and is the preparation leading up to the Holy Week which celebrates the Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This year the Lent season, therefore, will conclude on April 17.
At St Joseph the Worker Mumbi Parish of the Catholic Diocese of Murang’a (CDM), Christians in their hundreds thronged the sanctuary at 6.20am to participate in the rite.
The Assistant Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Stephen Kara while celebrating the Ash Wednesday Mass urged the faithful to embrace repentance, prayer, fasting and almsgiving during the season as they await the ultimate celebration of Christ’s triumph over death.
“By placing ashes on your face as a believer accompanied by the words ‘repent and believe in the gospel’, we put an emphasis on mortality and the need for repentance while giving up something we love,” he said urging the Christians to, “Spend more time in prayer, reflective meditation and repentance and turn your hearts to God as you strive to participate in acts of charity and almsgiving.”
Scripture readings drawn from the book of Prophet Joel, Psalms 51, second book of Corinthians and the gospel of Matthew 6:1-6, the day’s readings called for genuine repentance with weeping, fasting and mourning with Fr Kara noting that it was not about the external gestures but about the posture of a remorseful heart.
“Remember the poor, the vulnerable, the sick and even those imprisoned. Share with them the mercy of God as we strive to mend our relationship with God our creator and others, let our fasting be accompanied by works of mercy,” he said.
Forty days is used to signify a period of testing, trial, purification or preparation, most notably seen in Jesus 40 days of fasting in the wilderness before starting his ministry; the prophet Moses too spent 40 days and nights on mount Sinai before receiving the ten commandments and the Israelites spent 40 days wandering in the wilderness before accessing the Promised land.
Fr. Kara further underscored the need for all to improve their prayer life by creating more appropriate time to pray and fast adding doing so will give the believer the strength to resist temptation and ultimately celebrate Easter as victors.
Ash Wednesday comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting and is an obligatory day of fasting and abstinence.
During the celebration, the Christians had ashes applied on their foreheads in the shape of a cross followed by the words ‘repent and believe in the gospel’.
The ashes used are obtained from burning the palms fronds used in the previous year’s Palm Sunday service.
By Florence Kinyua
