Q 01/05

The traditional words said as Ash Wednesday's ashes are given remind each worshipper of what?

A) Their baptismal vows

B) The fall of Jerusalem

C) Their own mortality

D) The fires of Pentecost

Answer · why

C) Their own mortality

Their own mortality. The words are 'Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return', God's sentence on Adam in Genesis, and they are said to...

Q 02/05

Besides Ash Wednesday, on which other day of the year must Roman Catholics fast?

A) Christmas Eve

B) Maundy Thursday

C) Good Friday

D) All Souls' Day

Answer · why

C) Good Friday

Good Friday. Catholics were once bound to fast through the whole of Lent; in the twentieth century the rule was cut back to these two days, with the r...

Q 03/05

What are the ashes used on Ash Wednesday traditionally made from?

A) Linen from worn-out altar cloths

B) Greenery from the Christmas decorations

C) Burnt incense from the Easter Vigil

D) Palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday

Answer · why

D) Palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday

Palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday. Ashes were once only for notorious sinners doing public penance; when that custom faded about a thousand y...

Q 04/05

In what shape are the ashes usually marked on the forehead in English-speaking countries?

A) A cross

B) A dove

C) A star

D) A circle

Answer · why

A) A cross

A cross. The minister traces it with a thumb dipped in the ash; where the ashes are instead sprinkled dry on the crown of the head, as in much of the ...

Q 05/05

Which season did the Old English word 'lencten' name before it shrank to mean only the church's Lent?

A) Winter

B) Spring

C) Summer

D) Autumn

Answer · why

B) Spring

Spring. The word probably began as 'long days', for the lengthening light; other Germanic languages kept it for the season, and only English turned it...