Today Ash Wednesday marks the beginning if the season of Lent. It is a time when we fast with joy, submitting ourselves to spiritual struggles in preparation for the sorrowful Passion and joyful Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
What is demanded of all Christians at this time is fasting, abstinence, restriction of personal desires and pleasures, intense prayer, confession, and similar ascetic elements.
Lent is a sacred time of divine grace, which seeks to detach us from things material, lowly and corrupt in order to attract us toward things superior, wholesome and spiritual. It is a unique opportunity to remove from the soul every inordinate passion so as to make room for the immense rejoicing and gladness of Easter.
Limiting ourselves to what is absolutely essential and necessary in an attitude of dignified, deliberate simplicity is a formula for patience and tolerance; it is an opportunity to acknowledge and emphasize our need for God’’s assistance and mercy, placing our complete trust in His affectionate providence; it is a prescription for salvation.
Let us be up and on our way.
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of the management and staff of Dominica News Online and its parent companies.
The same people who celebrate carnival are the ones who observe Lent.
Nothing is any different during Lent. The clubs are open. The bars swing. If anything the music is louder. People leave drunk and fight outside. The priests hear the confessions of sins that were committed during carnival.
There had been a fire in a church and the priest had to find another venue to hold mass. The manager of the nearest bar offered the use of his club. They put a couple of sheets over the bottles and the counter.
However they forgot to cover up the parrot in a cage behind the counter. In the middle of the mass there was a rude interruption.
“Different show same crowd! Different show same crowd.”
said the parrot 
Religion does not change the human heart. Salvation does! The Bible says “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill…
Lizavier4Jesus I get a connection with you in the Spirit. Keep seeking Jesus He is real!
Yes, Jesus is real. He is the Life in my soul, by the Power of His Holy Spirit
Those of you condemning carnival and those who participate in it are such hypocrites! Remember Jimmy Swaggart? He would put on quite a show in his church and on television and then go out soliciting prostitutes. The first time he was caught he went on TV and asked for forgiveness admitting “I have sinned.” He was caught not much later doing the same thing. Leave the catholics alone; they do not live a lie. God gave us the ability to create music, dance, humor and much more. He created people like Sour Sour to entertain us. It’s just up to us to know the boundaries.
catholic????? plz shut up Catholics and all other religions has there own ways off sin but let me say if u had to weigh the amount of priest gone bad in the world with pastors they would burn Catholics no lie watch the amount of priest that has been caught molesting children even little boy there was even one taking ppl money to cremate bodies and throwing ppl bodies in forest and giving the family ashes from burnt wood , plz plz plz catholic that have more crime
Is English your second or third language?
If They selling food and clothes and at the same time condemning it, what does that say? That is still no excuse for those who revel. You know it is wrong don’t you? So both you who facilitate it and those who participate should repent or turn around and stop making excuses. I guess the facilitator sees it as a time to “make a dollar?”. I would advise the latter to trust in God who is suppose to be the source and stop depended on themselves.
At the same time making excuses does not excuse you. Everyone is responsible for his or her own behaviour.
Well said Anonymous Both are wrong and the Faciliatator according to you should trust God and not buy unwholy clothing (shorts and encouraging nakedness) as well. Those who did those things should not have done so since as Christians their duty is to speak to the masses about the Father and repentance and not encourage them to do the wrong things.
I am told the carnival – in addition to providing great music, singing, and dancing – also has many scantly clad young ladies swirling about which never fails to attract the baser sort of young fellows and
some not so young. It creates an atmosphere of temptation, and a profitable setting for those whose business is to sell alcoholic beverages and drugs. It spawns crime. We read this year of those who were arrested for possessing illegal fire arms.
People have a right to decide how they will spend their time and choose their own entertainment as long as they are not breaking the law. Christians – especially those who are known as evangelicals – have been taught to make these decisions based on what we believe the Lord would have us do. The Word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. We accept guidance from passages such as:
2 Corinthians 6:14-18, Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:1-7, 1 John 2:15-17.
Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill. International…
Those who participated in the carnival activity on Monday and Tuesday have always come in for a tongue lashing by those who get offended with the street partying. they call it revelry. But guess what. Whilst they find no difficluty in condemning Carnival, they were very busy on Carnival Monday and Tuesday and the days leading up to Carnnival preparingh booths to sell both food and drinks to the revellers. They brought in clothes, shoes and other personal wear for sale in their stores so that they could take advantange of and benefit from the increased commercial activity.
They obviously feel they can sell food and clothes to people attending the carnival even though they do not approve everything that is going on
Some people may attend for the wrong reasons but they still have to eat 
Many countries have a celebration of this sort once a year although it may take various forms. There are Christians who go and mingle with the crowds to hand out gospel tracts and share their faith with those who will listen. There are also well organized Christian ministries who visit such carnivals to hand out literature, hold mini-services on the side, pray with people and share Christ with them.
Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill. International Evangelist.
Theocracy the religion that was brought down to us is not Christianity! Christianity is not a religion. Christianity is not organized it is organic. True belief and relationship with God cannot change. The woulement you all do on the streets have nothing to do with God. Carnival is a religious festival, like christmas, or easter It is time that we open our eyes to the truth.
God said to praise Him with the trumpet, psaltery and harp, praise Him with the timbrel and the dance, praise him with stringed instuments too. Were you praising God on the streets on Monday and Tuesday and all the days before that? Stop making excusing for the revelry.
Well said Anonymous. See his second paragraph which is stated in his holy book.
People also read Galations 5 16 – 26 and you will understand what is being said about revellry and the “other works of the flesh” Also read Revelations 21 – 8 for further clarity.
It is not my intention to judge anyone but I need to let you know about the word so your blood be not upon my shoulder. You can either listen to it or heed it. If you listen then ….. If you heed the word, then your blood be not on my shoulder.
See Psalm 150.
Annonymous
You said “Christianity is not a religion”. And that is an idea that the majority of people has not understood.
It scares me, when someone tells me they are “born again” and then they start speaking to me about religion. So many of our church leaders–whatever the role they play–contemplate on advocating “religious” beliefs to the congregation, claiming that they are speaking about God to people. And so we call ourselves Christians, but we live and die, with our practice of religion that does nothing to our dead soul.
Why don’t people understand that one the reasons, Jesus was crucified, was because He would not abide by the religious rules of the Pharisees, the Scribes, or the Sadducees. Those men even complained that the followers of John the Baptiste washed their hands before eating, but Jesus’ disciples did not do that; so they accused of wrong doing. All of those rules were religious rules that meant nothing to Jesus, and He would not do them.
I know a story where a boy was talking to a preacher, and he told the preacher “I have tried religion, and it did not work, so I gave it up. The preacher responded to the boy saying: I tried religion too, and it did not work for me either; so I gave it up as well. The boy was surprised to hear the preacher say that. And the preacher said to him; it is not religion that I am offering you; I am offering you Jesus Christ.
The person who wrote that story continued by saying: “Religion is the best people can do, but Christianity is best God can do!
I know that Christianity is not a RELIGION; Christianity is an INTIMATE relationship of LOVE with God by our faith. But no human being revealed that Truth to except God’s Holy Spirit. For God promised us through His prophet Jeremiah: I will write my Words on their hearts, and I will put them in their minds. God does that in my by my faith through a dedicated and consistent Love relationship with Him, in Jesus Christ.
Through that intimate relationship–our dedicated and consistent habit of studying the Word of God; of talking to Him through constant prayer; through keeping Him in our minds all day long; through our desire to Love Him and to love people, we eat the Body of God–the Bread of Life, in His Person, Jesus Christ.
Hence we conceive Love, and give birth to Life–which manifest in our soul, as this soul becomes awakened, quicked by Light of the Life in Jesus Christ. “In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men”. John 1: 4
Lent is also a practice of religion; it does nothing for our Salvation. But Salvation, spiritual transformation, to do the Ways of Love, which is the Ways of God, because our mind is renewed and our soul illuminates by Light that is in us because of Jesus Christ, is the goal that every human should go after. This goal comes through our steadfast faith–not good works.
To Lizavier4Jesu
When you say Christianity is not a religion you are so laughable sometimes i wonder if you understand what you are saying, but again you are entitled to your own beliefs. Oh boy you and your gibberish Christianity vs Religion wow. When you make the statement that Christianity is best God can do, all i have to say is Pitty you. Did you ever gave thought to that statement. It is very absurd to imply what you think the best that God can do, who are you with your puny mind to make such statement and believe such thing to be the truth and what makes it even worse is to imply that it is Christianity. God did not make Christianity, Christianity is a religion created by Man period. just like Islam is a religion created by man, these things were mans concept. Do you know the origin of Christianity? This i will leave you with The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: Be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge.
Please do not confuse the vile behavior of carnival with worship.
Everything that jingles is not gold. Even much of the religious noise in so called “churches” today in Canada and the USA is not worship! Much of it is nothing but mockery! But take off some clothes, mouth some filthy lyrics, shake your pelvis, and call it carnival. What do you have? You have people looking for joy in all the wrong places.
In Canada and America there are many pastors who have lost the anointing of the Holy Spirit. They don’t preach the gospel and “revival” is a bad word! Spiritual gifts no longer operate in their services. No wonder spiritually hungry people are looking to the world for the emotional fulfillment that they once found in the house of God.
It is time to seek the Lord for a visitation of the Holy Spirit in Bible believing churches until God sends us a
revival that will turn things around.
Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill. International Evangelist.
We spend so much time crying down catholics partaking in carnival. Yet, the member of the other religions at their so called camps fornicating and posting picturs of carnival on their facebook page. Wonder how they got those pictures when they are supposed to be in camp doing bible study.
While they crying down carnival, all of them playing Mighty Wok Sop in their vehicles.
Stupes….hypocrites. Catholics doing it in public the rest of you doing it in private…all sin is sin.
I went to carnival and I did nothing wrong. I did not even dance in the street, just stood by and watched. Did I sin?
i agree with u a hundred percent. I do not think god said u can’t dance or take part in any activities is how u go about doing it. #1 i cannot understand seven day adventist saying their church is best yet they are having boyfriends and even making children without they are married. It happens in other religions so i don’t know what these people saying. At least catholics are not hypocrite. I just believe that if u conduct yurself in a way pleasing to god there is no problem in that…
Excuses … Excuses .. we won’t be able to make excuses nor look at what others are doing. Cleanliness begins with us. The enemy of our soul is always using us to make excuses … but it is the word and the commandments which we have to follow.
Those who do anything in darkness will also be judge because our Mighty Creator sees and hears everything so no one can hide. My advice to you all read his words ask for wisdom an dunderstanding and develop a relationship with him and then your conscience will tell you if what is being done (revelling, dirty and degrading songs , half naked women showing off their private parts or outlines to turn on the opposite sex etc . Read Galations 5 – 16 – 26 and after you read then tell me if you can identify that what is being done is in line with our Heavenly Fathers teaching and his commandments. and hey do’t look at what the other one is doing. Look within and if you partake of such then you are indeed a part of the revelling. This also means that those who condemn if they partake in whatever way they are wrong as well.
Yes one can dance to the Lord alone who is worthy of all praise as the Psalmist David danced to the Lord. Read Psalm 150 and you will then understand why one has to dance to the Lord.
What is not of the Lord is of the enemy o four soul and do not talk about hypocrisy and in open. WE should respect the Everlasting Father in all we do and say.
Do not allow the “Evil One’ to use you to make excuses for doing what is not pleasing to the Lord. This is his style and also the notion that everyone else is doing it is also a false alarm from him. That the way he operates – to lose your faith in the “One and only” who gives life and gives it abundantly but he came to steal, kill and destroy (devour) and he tries his best to “use” persons so we can fall with him in “lake that was made only for him and his fallen angels’ Not for anyone of us so we need to stop listenning to him and read more of the Bible where we will learn more about him. Our Father will send those to support you when you surrender to him and your desire to do his will.
To Watcher
What is it that makes you think that your religious beliefs based on quoting the Bible as reference to justify certain things is the absolute truth and that what is written in the Bible is Gods word, and that is how it should be. This absurd, and lazy thinking. What makes you think that it is only through the Bible that we can come to know God or find the truth. I have always said that religion has always been the stumbling block the barrier in mans quest in search for the truth and God. The faith of every man should be the trust in truth to seek it, not in fairy tales that must be taken for granted, but in the truth and the truth should always be simple , simple enough to be comprehensible to all. One of the most unpardonable sins is when man refuse to seek knowledge or light but instead being indoctrinated with dogma.
If you do not partake in Carnival because of what your believe, that is fine, you have a right to your beliefs, and do not condemn others who do, calming what they are doing is not God ordained quoting the Bible. You know when you talk about nakedness, Why is it in the Bible story that when God made Adam and Eve they were naked and left in a Garden and it was not was until they were tempted by the Serpent that there after they were given clothing. Why was it not fit by God to give them clothing in the first instance after they were created.
You talk about the “Evil one” tempting people to do things which are not pleasing to God. In the Pentateuch which is the books of Mosses Why is it all the temptations, punishments and revenge are all done by Yahweh himself or by his angel at his direct command. Let us not forget the temptations of Abraham, the slaughter of the first-born in Egypt, the brimstone and fire rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah, the evil spirits which came upon Saul, the pestilence to punish David these were all things done by God. Let us remember the mind which we discover within us is the mind that governs all things, this is the thing it self and we should recognize that simplicity.
I agree with you,let the truth be told,too many times people look for excuses to justify their wrong doings.The word of God is absolute truth.
At Gary i feel sorry for you,Jesus is the WAY the Truth and The Life,if you dont believe the Word of God then die and you will see that everything the Bible says is true.
Why would you even go? Are you a Christian (a born again person)? If so have you made Jesus Lord of your Life?
Church kids go to their church camps to meet other kids and have a good time. Not all of them have a relationship with Christ. Putting pictures of carnival on their facebook page? Silly, but it is what kids that age might do. Maybe some adults to!
However we find a lot less interest in carnival among those who have received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and been born again than among those whose only have a connection of some kind of a church.
Their are two types of Christians.(1) Those who are satisfied just to be saved. (2) Those who have truly made Jesus the Lord of their lives.
Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill. International Evangelist.
So who says God does not want people to enjoy themselves?
Remember religions emerge from cultures: African, European, Middle Eastern, Indian or whatever. We were colonized and influenced by Western Christianity from the Middle East originating with its powerful desert God of the early Jews. Christianity has changed over time.
All you fundamentalist “born again” Christians learned your Christianity from those conservative Midwest U.S. Bible belt missionaries who descended on Dominica some time ago. They did not like all those African and old Western European traditions. They could not woulay. They did not like woulay. You had to behave like red neck conservative Middle America, so all those ole time things were deemed to be pagan, satan, devil etc.
The Bible can be interpreted in many ways and I am sure you will find many verses on singing, music, fun and wine just as you will find Old Testament fire, brimstone, jealousy and destruction. Oh my! Have I put the cat among the pigeons ? !.
Yes but did you read about what happenned when they did not heed the word of the Prophets etc. Most of those things were here even before the time of the Redeemer coming to die for the sins of Mankind. So yes those thing will be there but he is calling on us to dwell upon the things of the Lord and he is not commandng us to be what he wants us to be . We have been given a free choice .. He is merciful and just to forgive us and he doesnot want none yes none of us to perish but the result is who do we choose – Him or his adversary … we need to make the correct choice. One you choose the right choice … He will be there to guide and direct your path… Send the correct persons into your life …. Actually everyting will fall in place. Though there will be trials ‘ He will never leave you nor forsake you’ After surrendering it will be trust in him and faith that will keep you thru. He will never let you be tempted more than you can bear.
You have two choices therein to heed or not to heed. Music , Fun etc is for the Glory of the Father. David danced to the Lord even his wife said he was mad. Read Psalm 150 or infact all the Praise psalms 146 – 150. It would be good to read the book of Proverbs and Galatians 5 16 to the end of the Chapter.
good on you watcher,tell them,they too like to say what the Bible did not say,and misinterpret the Bible so they can do their foolishness.
Lent… after all the nonsense I saw going on for the couple of minutes that I swtiched the chanel yesterday? What utter rubbish.. sin sin sin and then go put on ashes,… is God a fool? Even a two year old would tell you that if you do that you do not mean it
All you not tired of making mockery of God? Do every fleshly act and then “take it easy?” And next year do the same thing again? Boy look at hypocrisy. Christ is alive stop worshiping a dead God and repent!!
Even if he is merdiful and just to forgive us.. Must we always do the wrong ” Fleshy acts” over and over again.. This is mocking our Heavenly Father and go for Ash. Where is this in the Bible .. someone help me please.
I could never understand the symbolic of “Ash Wednesday” that since I was about 12, I stopped going for ashes. This makes no sense to me.. So we as people who should give the message should condone and encourage what is happenning ( the revelry, attire, certain songs degrading at the most , wine and woulay) and then tell people that “Lent” they should take ash and repent again to break that again next year to do the same thing again ( a stuck record). Please people this is not religion but we need to be serious and “Can this be correct in the sight of the LOrd? Lord God help us and send your wisdom unto your people and the inhabitants of Dominica.
Lent and Easter are just a few of the satans ways of misleading the people of this world. Indulge you in excessive dringking eating and sex and tells it’s ok its lent. what utter nonesense.
Wake up my people from your slumber, stop woshiping idols. Read your Bible and understand it. Your Salvation is yours to seek, not the priest, pastor or elder.
Do not die in your ignorance.
Yes Wisdom – really misleading the people of this world. Anything excessive is sin and the “Evil One” has been able to use the thing the Father created and to twist it to his advantage. Here the excuse – The Lord created Dancing, sex, Praise and Worship. But as a people do they read their bible with wisdom (ask for it people .. He give it freely) , Sex is for married people – their bed is undefiled, not sex here there and eveywhere (changing and want to know what is uner all and sundry (men and Women) , Dancing to the Lord not the “dirty degrading songs and woulaying etc.. I could go on but see how he uses everything that our Father created to mislead. Liar he is. And another big lie (I believed it myself before) We were created by the Heavenly Father but he is not all of us Father. You become his “Son or Daughter’ by the choice that you make and to follow his commandments.
Even if he is merdiful and just to forgive us.. Must we always do the wrong ” Fleshy acts” over and over again.. This is mocking our Heavenly Father and go for Ash. Where is this in the Bible .. someone help me please.
I could never understand the symbolic of “Ash Wednesday” that since I was about 12, I stopped going for ashes. This makes no sense to me.. So we as people who should give the message should condone and encourage what is happenning ( the revelry, attire, certain songs degrading at the most , wine and woulay) and then tell people that “Lent” they should take ash and repent again to break that again next year to do the same thing again ( a stuck record). Please people this is not religion but we need to be serious and “Can this be correct in the sight of the LOrd? Lord God help us and send your wisdom unto your people and the inhabitants of Dominica.
[Reply]
When is that hyprocrisy going to stop in D/ca, we flaunt our sinfulness in God’s face every year and after run to church and ask him to forgive us, after lent is over, we go right back to living in sin again from May onwards then come next year we do carnival all over again, that time fearing God less and less, when it all that catholic hyprocrisy going to stop. Remember without holiness no man shall see God, so Dominica’s, God is patient, when he is ready to judge us we will not say we were not warned. Look at what is happening in the world today, earthquakes in diverse places, when is it going to be our turn, no one knows but God. That’s why he says be ready, for this unpredictable future which starts tomorrow, cause nobody can predict anything that’s going to happen in this archipelago we call the Caribbean, cause we are doing so much that is just asking for God’s judgement on us.
AMEN, AMEN & AMEN.
luck lilly
You have made a good point, here.
But a lot about Lent and its observations has to do with “religion”. And if you do not already know it, the Catholic Church practice religion a lot. However religion is not truly about God’s Ways; religion is about the rules and laws of good conducts founded on the ideas of man. In other words religion is a set of man-made rules and laws, that demands the practice of good works. But people can do good works without doing Love, which is of God; so the attitude and conducts of Love are God’s Ways, and God’s Ways are the ways of Life–reflecting Spiritual Light in us.
The way of Lent is also, just like the days when God used to call His people to sacrifice animals to make atonement for their sinful conducts and attitude. Through those sacrifices, God would sanctify-purify- the minds and flesh of those people, so He could live among them– a God of Love, in Spirit, Holiness and Truth. But those people had to do that every year. As they would go right back into their sinful ways again; just as you have pointed about Lent and the rest of the year.
That is why, today, Christians must accept Jesus’ body, as the perfect Lamb, which was sacrificed for the sins of the world, for once and for all. God decided that as human beings we will always commit sins; so He has made provisions, that the sins we commit are always washed by the blood of Jesus, as long we continue in faith to Him. Gradually God will make our flesh pure, renewing our minds, that we will not have the desire to commit sins.
So in a way, people do not have to observe Lent, as it does nothing for us. Salvation will only come through an intimate, Love relationship with God, by faith in His Person, Jesus Christ. In the meantime, God wants us to maintain self-control, the only we can fight away the temptation to commit sins.
The apostle Paul also advised us: “Do not be conformed to the things of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”. He also says to us: “Walk in the Spirit, walk in Love, so you will not fulfill the lust of your flesh”. There is a way to God and His Love in Jesus Christ, but as human beings, God wants to make that choice, He will not force it on us.
The origin of the word CARNIVAL is: Carne (flesh) Vale (farewell). So the two days feasting before Lent was “Farewell to Flesh”. It was a feast that was the last chance to party before everything had to be shut down for Lent. It was “Farewell to Flesh” that was to put an end to flesh of all kinds, meat, feasting, sexual flesh and such like for forty days. So Lent is a good period to tone down, reflect and take it quietly.
In Dominica it meant no parties for the whole of Lent, no wild music, no meat but fish was permitted. Now of course people pay no attention to that and the music and the fetting goes right through to Easter and beyond without a break. I think that taking a break in the old way is a good thing.
Nice