To those who observe, you are marked on #AshWednesday with a cross of #hope, not just #repentance. May you find grace in your Lenten #fast.

Western Christians begin #Lent February 18, 2026.
Orthodox Christians begin #GreatLent February 23, 2026.
Both count back from their #Easter date, but each uses a different calendar to approximate te #vernalequinox (Gregorian vs. Julian)

painting, Ash Wednesday by Charles de Groux, 1866, courtesy Stedelijk Museum Wuyts-Van Campen en Baron Caroly (#136776), Lier, Belgium

#Calendar #histsci #astronomy #equinox #timekeeping

*Update: I've made the decision to convert to Islam after settling down recently and embrace modesty in the name of Allah to repent all my sins. I haven't decide yet if i should remove my naughtier posts here or keep them as a reminder of my past sins. I'm in a happier place now as a devoted wife. Wishing y'all a blessed Ramadan and thank you for following me on my journey here. 🤲

#islam #ConverttoIslam #Islamquotes #repentance

I saw a #StatusCoup vid with a former #MAGA Trump voter being interviewed on the street, at a #FuckICE protest in #Minneapolis #Minnesota. He demonstrated genuine #humility , #repentance & #regret. People like that - I can forgive because everyone makes mistakes. It's how people choose to deal with their mistakes that builds up or tears down their own personal character.

I've always been open to #forgiveness when humility, repentance & making better, more humane, personal choices, going forward - are demonstrated. I'm only a hardliner with forgiveness when none of the above-mentioned actions are taken.

Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s readings

Second Samuel, which we have been reading in our first readings over the last couple of weeks, paints King David, the ancestor of Our Lord, as a very human, very flawed man. Last Friday, we heard of his exploits with Bathsheba, which resulted in him murdering her husband, Uriah the Hittite. Yesterday’s reading, if it had not been Saint Blaise’s memorial, talked about the death of his son Absalom in battle.

Today’s first reading shows a flawed David too, but maybe the flaw isn’t as easy to understand. But Joab, the leader of David’s army, can see it. In some of the verses that our first reading omits, Joab tries to dissuade David by saying: “May the LORD your God increase the number of people a hundredfold for my lord the king to see it with his own eyes. But why does it please my lord to do a thing of this kind?” Joab can see what David is choosing to ignore: that David should be content with the Lord’s blessings, and not try to take inventory. But David is convinced and the census takes place.

What makes this even weirder is that in verse one of the 24th chapter of second Samuel, the verse that comes just before the reading we have, it is God himself who incites David to do this thing, because God is angry with the way the nation has been behaving. It’s almost like God used David to punish Israel for their sins.

But it’s important to remember that David isn’t innocent in all this. He too has contributed to the sins of Israel, and so the punishment is warranted. Thank God that he has mercy at the end of the reading, putting an end to the pestilence.

So here’s the thing. It’s a weird story, and it paints an Old Testament picture of a God who is quite different than the mercy we see in Jesus. But the message that we have to get is that the whole idea here is to stay in relationship with God. The Israelites wanted to ignore God unless they really, really needed him, relying instead on their alliances with pagan people, and committing the same sins as they did. Even good King David was caught up in that. The point of this reading is that God is not without mercy, but he wants his people to acknowledge their need for it. David does in the responsorial psalm, calling out to God, “Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.”

https://substack.com/@disarmingleviathan/note/c-202810892

#Christianity #Repentance