Ash Wednesday at SMA
Ash Wednesday at SMA
Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, which means "spring." The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry.
Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism. Today, Christians focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for others.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a solemn 40-day period devoted to reflection, prayer, spiritual preparation and fasting before Easter. As an outward expression of faith, Catholics on Ash Wednesday may have ashes applied to their foreheads in the shape of cross.
This year the Academy held several services led by Deacon Javier to mark the start of Lent.
The Academy would like to take this opportunity to thank Deacon Javier for leading the services and the pupils in Year 10 (Jack Morrin, Christine Despabiladeras, Rochelle Raymond – Carter, Ashley Vital, Liyema Mbalula, Luke Bayrev and Karl Ammanudeen) for their contributions throughout the services.