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Ashes and palms?
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Posted by: MarkSentMe
I grew up Catholic and every year during Lent, we always went to church for Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday. We got "the smudge" on our foreheads for Ash Wednesday and on Palm Sunday, we got a palm leaf, which my grandmother would make into a Cross.
Even though I was Catholic for about 19 years and was not a "practicing Catholic" for about 20 years (got saved and baptised last year) I never knew the significance of the ashes and palms. My friend who is Catholic, my sister-in-law and even my parents can't tell me what those mean. So, can someone tell me why we went to church to get these things?
I know they are symbols of something, but what?
Posted by: eagle4him
I am a "recovering Catholic". Recovering from the indoctrination of many pagan and false religious ceremonies, etc.
First of all the ashes. Ashes remind us of our mortality--Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. Famous words spoken by the Catholic Priest at the graveyard. They also remind us of repentance--sackcloth and ashes!
Palms were used to welcome Jesus into Jerusalem, acknowledging Him as the Son of God. But yet just a few days later, those same people were voting to kill Him. How fickle!
Revelation 7:9 talks about the palms as well.
Now in addition to the preparation of palms and ashes for the season of "Lent", more tradition unfolds. All prophets of the Old Testament had to deal with false religion. In Revelation it talks about Babylonia and the end of this false religion.
In Genesis, Ch 10 we read of Nimrod, founder of the town of Bable. His wife, Sumerias, called Astarte in Egypt, aka Issus, Aphrodite, Venus in different cultures. Anyway, she was the first high priestess of idolatry known to the world. When Sumerius gave birth to a son, she said he was conceived miraculously by a sumbeam, ans she offered her son as the promised deliverer of the earth. His name was Tammuz. When T was full grown, a wild boar slew him, and after 40 days of his mother's weeping, he was raised form the dead.
Thus we have Tammuz, (T), from which we were given the "sign of the cross", pointing out the letter T for Tao, 40 days of weeping--or the current time of Lent, and the resurrection, of the savior of the world, now called Easter.
It is in this story that the cultic worship of mother-child religion began to spread, and the liturgy of the word began to be defined. The mother was worshippped by the offering of a wafer, or a little cake, to her as the "Queen of heaven". Then the 40 days of weeping for her son, Tammuz. At the end of the 40 days of the feast of Ishtaar (Easter), gifts were exchanged, little eggs, now known as Ishtaar eggs (Easter eggs).
This was not some "New Testament" religion handed down from St. Peter to others, no in fact it was actually started way back in the Old Testament during the time of Jeremiah the prophet. Read Jeremiah 44:1. Some of the "cultic" worship was the offering of incense and drink offerings to the "Queen of heaven".
So this is it. A little of truth, mixed with a lot of ritual, and we have false religion. Looks like the real thing, but is not.
Brothers and Sisters, I pray that you would come to know the truth. And the truth that you know would indeed set you free!
In His service,
Bruce
Posted by: MarkSentMe
Hee Hee. "Recovering Catholic". I am one too. 
There were a lot of things we did in the church that I did not understand.
My mother was relating how when they went to get ashes a few weeks ago, people were real ugly and nasty in the parking lot (the place was packed and old folks get testy) and then people were pushing in line on the way up to the altar. My friend was telling me how if you leave your palm on the pew and go up for communion, people will take it. So I thought I'd ask what all the whoop-de-doo was about! I didn't remember these things being "all that and a bag of chips" growing up. The most significant thing was one time me and my brother were sitting there after getting our ashes. I told him that the ashes came from a crematorium. He didn't believe me. I told him to feel them, they're gritty. Leaf ashes should be soft, but these were gritty like burned up bones. He felt his head. Man! He spit on his sleeve and was rubbing his forehead!!! LOL 
Posted by: MamaCat
Could one of you 'recovering' Catholics explain the fish on Friday deal? I remember growing up that the school lunch always had fish on Fridays! [Boy the ACLU would jump on THAT one today, wouldn't they!] 
Anyhow, just curious. I can't relate anything Biblical with it and thought one of you guys could enlighten me. 
Posted by: MarkSentMe
mama Cat, you and I are both old school!! LOL I tell people that about my school cafeteria and they look at me like I'm crazy!!
I think the "fish on Friday" deal was from the Pope way back in the day. Something about sacrificing during World War II by not eating meat on Friday in addition to "Meatless Tuesday" (my mother told me this). Pope John Paul II recanted it a while back, but most of my family still abides by the "fish on Friday" especially during Lent.
My friend was picking on me and said that now the health and nutrition people are pushing fish for one or more meals a week, so maybe the Catholic church knew a thing or two LOL...I'm still working on that friend!
Posted by: christythompson
The jews were turbulant, ready for revolution
When Jesus made his last entry into Jerusalem
The put palms in front of the animal that carried him.
They were calling him messiah and king.
They thought he would overthrow the Romans.
It was the 2nd time Jesus wept in the bible.
He was sad and prophesied about
the throwing down of the jewish stronghold.
The palms represented his kingship.
These are burned to become dust
and when our heads are marked
it is mentioned that we are dust
and need the kingship of Jesus