{"id":36292,"date":"2013-02-13T07:30:17","date_gmt":"2013-02-13T13:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=36292"},"modified":"2015-02-18T10:27:09","modified_gmt":"2015-02-18T16:27:09","slug":"5-common-misconceptions-about-ash-wednesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/02\/5-common-misconceptions-about-ash-wednesday\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Common Misconceptions About Ash Wednesday"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"5CommonMisconceptionsAboutAshWednesday\"<\/p>\n

Ash Wednesday not only marks the beginning of the season of Lent, it is also a time when Catholic new media takes center stage, albeit not in the most obvious ways. This is because Ash Wednesday masses are some of the most attended all year, and most of those mass goers rely upon church websites to\u00a0inform\u00a0them of the scheduled times to receive their ashes.<\/p>\n

This is also the most noticeable day of faith in the secular culture. It is common to suddenly realize you are surrounded by more Catholics that you realized once you see the ashy marks on people’s foreheads.<\/p>\n

This is a beautiful day drenched in profound realities and a very public call to repentance. I recommend you read 9 Things You Need to know About Ash Wednesday<\/a>. Even though it is a well known day, there are some confused ideas floating around concerning this day and season of Lent.<\/p>\n

5 Misconceptions About Ash Wednesday<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

1. Ash Wednesday is a Holy Day of Obligation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ash Wednesday is not a Holy day of Obligation. It is an important day however because it is a spiritual sign of our repentance and \u00a0call for conversion. This is our entrance into the spiritual desert, and we take this time to focus on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.<\/p>\n

2. The Ashes are more important than Holy Communion<\/strong><\/h3>\n

While this one is not verbally said often, it\u2019s proclaimed by the actions of many Catholics that choose to prioritize the reception of ashes while ignoring the need for the Eucharist.<\/p>\n

The church states that we are obliged to receive the Eucharist (True body and blood of our Lord) at least once a year (Canon 920), but there is no requirement to receive the ashes (a spiritual symbol).<\/p>\n

3. Chicken is allowed on days of abstinence because it is a white meat<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

Chicken is considered a meat because it is still muscle fibers and blood like red meat. Our Lord sacrificed His flesh, so we abstain from eating flesh on Ash Wednesday and Fridays as a sign of self-denial. \u00a0Eggs and milk products are allowed.<\/p>\n

4. We are able to eat fish on Ash Wednesday and Fridays during Lent because it helps the fish market<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

\"grilled-fish\"While this may seem like a very practical reason as to why fish is allowed, none of these decisions were made with profit in mind. They all serve to improve our spirituality.<\/p>\n

Taylor Marshall has an\u00a0explanation<\/a>\u00a0and more reasoning behind why fish is allowed.<\/p>\n

5. \u00a0You are forced to give up something for Lent<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It is common practice and a great idea to offer sacrifices for lent as forms of self-denial and practice of self-control. They help to remind us of the sacrifice that Our Lord made for us.<\/p>\n

The only sacrifices required by canon law are abstinence from meat on Fridays (or some other sacrifice on Fridays outside of Lent) and \u00a0fasting \u00a0on Ash Wednesday and \u00a0Good Friday (Canon 1250-3).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Sacrifices should be made of your own free will and out of the desires of your heart. As a common saying goes, “Don’t give up sweets if it only makes you bitter.”<\/div>\n

With that said, even though it\u2019s not required, I highly recommend you consider it. Another alternative is adding spiritual exercises, corporal works of mercy, and other practices to intentionally focus this penitential season. Read\u00a040 Days of Awesome: Giving Up More Than Beer, Cookies & Candy<\/a>\u00a0and 5 Tips for an Intentional Lent<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I pray you have a blessed Lent.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0UPDATE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are two newer posts worth reading.<\/p>\n

9 Things to Know About Ash Wednesday<\/a><\/p>\n

9 Things to Know About Lent<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ash Wednesday not only marks the beginning of the season of Lent, it is also a time when Catholic new media takes center stage, albeit not in the most obvious ways. This is because Ash Wednesday masses are some of the most attended all year, and most of those mass goers rely upon church websites… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[90],"tags":[1309,619,1422,132,562,1423,591,131,1420,1421],"class_list":["post-36292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-faith-blog","tag-abstinence","tag-ash-wednesday","tag-chicken","tag-eucharist","tag-fasting","tag-fish","tag-lent","tag-mass","tag-misconceptions","tag-myths","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38135,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/03\/do-you-count-sundays-in-lent\/","url_meta":{"origin":36292,"position":0},"title":"Do You Count Sundays in Lent?","author":"Crist\u00f3bal Almanza Herrera","date":"March 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve been very amazed to see the amount of Catholics that haven\u2019t been to mass in years yet still feel the need to give something up for Lent. 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Most people think that it\u2019s just a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Ash-Wednesday-201x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11114,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/02\/giving-something-up-or-giving-something-freely\/","url_meta":{"origin":36292,"position":2},"title":"Giving Something Up? Or Giving Something Freely?","author":"Laura Gonzalez","date":"February 8, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Ash Wednesday is only two weeks away! Unlike last year, I'm trying to figure out what to \"give up\" ahead of time. The only requirements for Lent is fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and abstinence on Fridays throughout Lent. The practice of giving something up is what I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/junkfood.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12256,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/02\/have-you-cheated-yet\/","url_meta":{"origin":36292,"position":3},"title":"Have You Cheated Yet?","author":"Brandon Kraft","date":"February 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Alright folks. One week down. How is everyone doing? Been perfect so far? I admit, I already had a Lenten slip-up. This year, for better or worse, I didn't mention what I was offering up for Lent on my personal site. In retrospect, I usually fail at it, which not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/6098585736_6de8606f39_b-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":825,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2011\/03\/two-guys-a-girl-and-a-catholic-podcast-episode-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":36292,"position":4},"title":"Two Guys, a Girl and a Catholic Podcast Episode 4","author":"Jason Elizondo","date":"March 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"[powerpress] Segment #1 - Current Events - Chris\u00a0 Pope Exonerates Jews for the Crucifixion, Says that Christianity should not be used to justify violent political movements http:\/\/apnews.myway.com\/article\/20110310\/D9LSB1FG0.html http:\/\/www.catholicnews.com\/data\/stories\/cns\/1100846.htm (more on the subject) Vatican II proclaimed the same thing in Nostra Aetate, In this Age 1965: Even though the Jewish authorities\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Podcast"","block_context":{"text":"Podcast","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/podcast\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":187431,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/12\/popular-misconceptions-about-the-catholic-mass-part-i-music\/","url_meta":{"origin":36292,"position":5},"title":"Popular Misconceptions About the Catholic Mass, Part I: Music","author":"Michael Raia","date":"December 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A number of\u00a0liturgical reforms seen in the U.S. since Vatican II were not actually mandated or even recommended\u00a0by the Council, but\u00a0were reactionary shifts that had more to do with the culture of the\u00a0decade\u00a0\u2013 it\u2019s time to revisit\u00a0those changes. 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