Ashes to ashes

Published 9:09 pm Tuesday, February 12, 2013

    The Rev. Gordon Milsted, of St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, will hold a special Mass today at 6:30 p.m. recognizing the beginning of Lent, the 40 days of penance leading up to the Easter holiday.

The Rev. Gordon Milsted, of St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, will hold a special Mass today at 6:30 p.m. recognizing the beginning of Lent, the 40 days of penance leading up to the Easter holiday.

Today marks the beginning of the season of Lent, which for Catholics and other Christian denominations means a period of penance.

The Rev. Gordon Milsted, of St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church in Atmore said the Lenten season was originally a period of instruction and a time of penance that would allow non-Christians to become Christians.

“On Easter they were accepted as Christians,” he said.

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Milstead said the church later realized that all of its members should have a time of penance and extended Lent to others.

Many believers practice self-denial during the six week period, but Milsted said Lent can also be about doing something extra and committing to it.

“It’s about getting back on the right track with the Lord,” he said.

The season begins with Ash Wednesday, which is marked in Atmore by a service at the church at 6:30 tonight. It’s a normal Sunday Mass, but ashes are placed on the forehead of parishioners in the shape of a cross as a “reminder that we want to be with God in heaven.”

“It’s a symbol that we are doomed to die and therefore need to prepare ourselves for death and to meet our Lord,” he said.

The ashes used for the Ash Wednesday service usually come from the palm leaves from the previous year’s Palm Sunday service, but Milsted said they buy the ashes for the service here.

Believers also recognize the season by giving up meat on Fridays.

“Christ died in the human flesh,” Milsted said. “We give up meat as a symbol of humanity.”

Milsted, 75, is a Pensacola, Fla. native, who has been over the Atmore church for seven years. Before that he spent 11 years at a church in Fairhope. He said the Atmore parish consists of around 98 households.

The Vatican announced Monday that Pope Benedict XVI announced he would resign at the end of the month due to his advanced age.

Milsted said he supports the decision by the religious leader of 1.3 million Catholics worldwide.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Milsted said. “I wish him well.”

Milsted believes the Benedict did a good job.

“Generally he lived up to what he was supposed to do,” Milsted said.