PRINCETON, N.J. -- Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana are the most right-leaning states in the union, with between 46% and 49% of residents in each identifying as politically conservative. Massachusetts, Vermont and Hawaii are the most left-leaning, with 30% of residents in each of those states identifying as liberal.
Figurative: The term ashes is often used to signify worthlessness, insignificance or evanescence (Genesis 18:27 Job 30:19). Proverbs of ashes, for instance, in Job 13:12, is Job's equivalent, says one writer, for our modern rot.. For the ritual use of the ashes of the Red Heifer by the priests, see RED HEIFER.
Ash Wednesday opens up this season of penitence. Remember, man, you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.. So says the priest as he makes the sign of cross with ashes on our foreheads. The ashes are made by burning the previous year's blessed palms. This is a vivid reminder of our mortal nature. We are bodies fashioned from dust. Then the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being (Gen 2:7).