Wednesday, March 5 is observed by many Christians as Ash Wednesday. The origins of Ash Wednesday go back to the 4th to 6th centuries when there was a time of public repentance prior to Easter in preparation for 小蓝视频 absolved and restored to the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Eventually, this time of preparation for absolution morphed into a season of fasting and prayer that all Christians were encouraged to follow prior to the Easter celebration. In the medieval Roman Catholic Church, a 40 day season of fasting before Easter was established, beginning with Dies Cinerum (Day of Ashes) and the sprinkling of ashes on the head of those observing the period. In English the day became known as Ash Wednesday, since the season always started on a Wednesday.
Now the Lenten Season (as it became known in English from the old Saxon word for spring) is observed by many Christians as a time of fasting, prayer, and charitable acts for 40 days, prior to Easter and starting on Ash Wednesday. Christians do not use the Lenten disciplines to wait until Easter to be absolved but seek absolution as regularly as possible during the 40 days.
Absolve means to set someone free from an obligation or the consequences of guilt. Youth does not absolve a person of responsibility for their actions. The defendants were absolved by the jury returning a not guilty verdict to the crimes with which they were charged.
In the religious sense, absolve means to pardon or forgive a sin. The priest absolved the penitent of their sins of thought, word, and deed. The mother absolved her son for taking an extra cookie from the jar.
Absolve came into the English language in the 1400s from the Latin word absolvere, meaning to release, free, finish, complete. Absolvere was formed by adding the prefix ab (from, away, off) to solvere (to loosen). The Latin solvere is connected to many English words, like solve, dissolve, resolve, solvent, and solution. In English the idea of absolve meaning to finish or accomplish has become obsolete.
Synonyms of absolve are exculpate, exonerate, acquit, and vindicate.
Exculpate implies a clearing from blame or fault often in a matter of small importance. Her teenage son is constantly getting into some kind of trouble, but he knows how to charm his mother so she will exculpate his actions.
Exonerate suggests a complete clearance from an accusation or charge and from any attendant suspicion of blame or guilt. The professor was exonerated by the investigation of the task force committee.
Acquit means a formal decision in one’s favour with respect to a definite charge. The jury voted to acquit the defendant.
Vindicate refers to things as well as persons that have been subjected to critical attack or imputation of guilt, weakness, or folly, and implies a clearing affected by proving the unfairness of such criticism or blame. The government minister is confident that she will be vindicated by the committee’s report.
Absolution in the religious context is often connected with sincerity and truth. Is one absolved if the confession is not sincere and truthful? I think of the Godfather movies when the gangsters receive absolution from a priest but continue to commit the same actions over and over again.
There is a divide in Christianity over 小蓝视频 absolved by a priest or pastor. Some believe that God has given a spiritual power to priests and pastors to absolve sin as sure as if it is absolved by God in heaven. Others believe no human person can absolve another. All do agree that the ultimate authority and forgiveness belongs to God alone.
May Ash Wednesday reminds us that we need absolution because we all sin and 小蓝视频 absolved, in whatever sense, is a freeing experience that has a place in all relationships.
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