1. "What's the point of wearing ashes?"
2. "What is Lent? Why is it called Lent?"
3. "Why abstain from meat when Jesus made all foods clean?"
4. "Why fast publicly when Jesus said not to draw attention to it?"
1. "What's the point of wearing ashes?"
Answer: Ashes have a two-fold symbolism signifying repentance and mortality. In the Old Testament, when expressing sorrow for sin or crying out to God for mercy, people would repent in "sackcloth and ashes" (e.g. Jonah 3: 5-6). The ashes signify our desire to turn back to God in Lent. Secondly, the ashes signify our mortality as all of our bodies will one day return to dust.
[This two-fold symbolism is confirmed with the two sayings one hears when receiving ashes. Some hear, "You are dust and to dust you shall return," which emphasizes our mortality.
While this somber symbol may sound dismal, there's an upshot for every Christian. Although our bodies will one day be reduced to dust, Jesus Christ will raise us up again on the Last Day (John 6:44). Although we may have committed serious sins, the Good News is that Jesus has come to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).]
2. "What is Lent, and why is it called Lent?"
Answer: Lent is a 40-day season before Easter when we focus on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These spiritual practices allow us to make more room for God in our lives. The word "Lent" comes from an older word for Spring, since the season is supposed to be a time of spiritual renewal.
Catholic Encyclopedia definition: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09152a.htm
3. "Why abstain from meat when Jesus made all foods clean?"
Answer: We agree that Jesus made all foods clean (cf. Acts 10) and that meat is not ritually unclean like pork was under the Old Covenant. Nonetheless, Jesus acknowledges the value in fasting, and implies its continuation when he says, "The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day" (Mark 2:20).
During Lent, fasting is understood to mean a particular refraining from all food and drink. Abstinence is understood to mean a refraining from meat. Both are meant to be sacrifices that highlight our need for Christ. "Man does not live by bread alone" (Matthew 4:4) nor on meat alone.
4. "Why fast publicly when Jesus said not to draw attention to it?"
Answer: It's true that Jesus says, “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward" (Matthew 6:16).
Jesus highlights that we must not fast publicly to flaunt our religiosity or to showcase how great we are. Our interior disposition should be one of humility, reverence, and repentance. This is generally true. But this is not the only kind of fast spoken of in the Bible.
In a section describing repentance, the Old Testament prophet Joel says, "Blow the horn in Zion! Proclaim a fast, call an assembly!" (Joel 2:15).
In Jonah, we read that the people of Ninevah repented and called for a public fast, "And the people of Ninevah believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them . . . By the decree of the kind and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God" (Jonah 3:5-8).
So, we find Old Testament warrant for a public fast signifying the need for a whole group of people to repent. Likewise, Lent is a season where the Church, i.e. the City of God on Earth, is called to fast and repent.
This is no contradiction to Jesus's teaching in Matthew 6. All who partake in the fast can heed Jesus's teachings and avoid seeking outward praise and attention from the fast.
source: John DeRosa
https://www.catholic.com/profile/john-derosa
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