The act echoes the ancient Near Eastern tradition of throwing ashes over one's head to signify repentance before God (as related in the Bible). The priest or minister says one of the following when applying the ashes:

Remember, O man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return. (Genesis 3:19)

Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel. (Mark 1:15)

Repent, and hear the good news. (Mark 1:15)

In the Roman Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday is observed by fasting, abstinence from meat, and repentance—a day of contemplating one's transgressions.
On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Roman Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 are permitted to consume only one full meal, which may be supplemented by two smaller meals, which together should not equal the full meal. Some Roman Catholics will go beyond the minimum obligations demanded by the Church and undertake a complete fast or a bread and water fast.
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are also days of abstinence from meat (for those Catholics age 14 and over), as are all Fridays in Lent.
Some Roman Catholics continue fasting during the whole of Lent, as was the Church's traditional requirement, concluding only after the celebration of the Easter Vigil.

As the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday comes the day after Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), the last day of the Carnival season.

Wow. My sister Geraliz Manit Cedeno and her husband Mark Anthony Sigui Dano just passed the 2009 Physician board exam of the Philippines.

Congratulations to

DR. GERALIZ MANIT CEDENO, M.D. and
DR. MARK ANTHONY SIGUI DANO, M.D.

Click here "Physician 2009 Exam Results" to see exam results.

Part of the 1000 pages describing the $800B stimulus package that President Barrack Obama signed recently are for the Filipino 2nd World War veterans that fought for the US.

There will be a 198M US dollars part of the package for these veterans. Divided to 15,000 US dollars if that person is a US citizen and 9,000 US dollars if otherwise.

I hope there will be more on this package reaching out this kind of help.

This is what we all need in order to stimulate and bring the US economy back on its feet.

Romance is Healthy. Study says that men with healthier sex lives have a longer life and cut their risks for heart attack and stroke in half by having sex at least three times per week. Another study shows having intercourse just twice a week boosts your immune system.

With the right mix of romance and relaxation, you can use Valentine's Day to relieve stress, elevate your mood, maybe burn some calories and even improve your sleep.

Eating heart healthy foods will also help ensure that your heart keeps pumping, but keep in mind, feeling overfed is not romantic. Go slowly on the main dish and save some room for desert.

Here's how D-I-E-T F-R-E-E works:

D - Drink Water
I - Include breakfast and stop eating 2-3 hours before bed
E - Eat a fruit or vegetable at every meal or snack
T - Tame your sweet tooth

F - Find the fat. Ignore the bad and enjoy the good
R - Replace processed foods with whole foods
E - Eat only until you are no longer hungry
E - Exercise. Make excercise your middle name.

Automotive OEMs have been the biggest target of the world recession. There is more than four months of vehicles built with nobody buying.

This is a good time to buy. The OEMs here in the US and around the world have temporarily stop most of their production due to too much inventory stock for over four months.

The OEMs dealerships have been offering the best deals ever just to sell cars and trucks and to get rid of their inventory as soon as possible.

I think this is the best time to buy cars right now because you can very much bargain with the dealerships.

I would only recommend this if you are in need of a car right now. But if you are not then dont spend a cent of your money to cars at this time.