A scholar of religion explains what those who fast for health and fitness can learn from religious traditions for a sustained, deeper and lifelong practice.
Ash Wednesday ritual at the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota on March 6, 2019.
P Photo/Jim Mone)
The day that begins the Lenten season is called Ash Wednesday. Here’s why it holds deep religious significance for Christians.
Worshipers pray during an Ash Wednesday Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, on March 6, 2019.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
Churches started to use ashes early as the ninth century as a symbol of repentance. In 1091, Pope Urban II ritualized their use to mark the beginning of Lent. Today, churches provide ‘ashes to go.’
A woman stands near an exhibit of photographs of victims of the Holocaust called the ‘Klarsfeld Pillars’ in New York.
Mike Segar/Reuters
Can the Nazis be forgiven? A rabbi explains why this question needs a more profound examination of some of Judaism’s deepest ethical mores and theological beliefs