Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day

It’s a curious pairing that doesn’t happen very often, but this year Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day occur on the same day. For 2024, February 14th will commingle Christian themes of repentance of sin with expressions of love and this may not be as strange together as it might seem at first! If you don’t know much about Ash Wednesday, it is the start to the season of Lent. It is the day that kicks off 40 days before Easter (excluding Sundays). Lent is a season characterized by three Christian disciplines that help prepare one’s heart to fully celebrate the awesomeness of the resurrection of Jesus. Valentine’s Day, too, is an important day. Of course, today, it has been commercialized and turned into a big money-maker. Many people expend a lot of money and energy toward cards, candies, flowers and gifts for loved ones. But Valentine’s Day originally started as a feast day in the Christian church to commemorate a couple of saints who gave of their lives for they faith and expressed love to people in really difficult situations. I actually think there’s a strange, but real beauty in celebrating both days at the same time. Thanks for giving the podcast a listen to hear and understand more. From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer). Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd, in the Apple and Google store.