Ash Wednesday and Lent
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What is Ash Wednesday?
by Fr. Larry Rice
For centuries, Catholic Christians have marked the beginning of the season of Lent by receiving ash on their foreheads on Ash Wednesday. This tradition has its roots in the Old Testament, where wearing ashes was a common sign of repentance for sins, and a sign of one’s humility before God. Since Lent is a season of penitential renewal through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, it’s appropriate that this ancient sign marks the beginning of the season.The ashes themselves are usually made by burning the palm fronds from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. This symbolically connects the beginning of Lent with its end, connecting our change of heart with Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection.
Ashes are usually distributed as part of the Mass on Ash Wednesday, often after the homily. As people approach the priest or other minister, he presses the ashes to their foreheads, and speaks one of two phrases: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” or “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”
In many places, Ash Wednesday services are among the most popular of the whole year—a day that’s not even a Holy Day of Obligation. Cynics have suggested that this is because people “get” something, as they do on Palm Sunday. But there’s nothing particularly appealing about getting smudged with ashes. Perhaps, the appeal is the expression through a physical sign of a desire for interior conversion.
The Gospel for Ash Wednesday is a reminder that the real purpose of the season of Lent isn’t to make public demonstrations of piety—even the wearing of ashes—but to seek conversion of heart.
Fr. Larry Rice is the former vocations director for the Paulist Fathers.
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What to Expect
Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and abstinence.
At St. Michael, Ash Wednesday Masses are typically very well-attended with Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
After the homily, the priest will say a blessing over the ashes. Select ministers will go up to distribute the ashes at designated places in the church. The faithful of any age are welcome to go up and receive ashes.
The Mass will continue with the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
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What is Lent?
Wednesday, February 22, 2023 thru Thursday, April 6, 2023
Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It's a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter. During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms; and we practice self-control through fasting. We are called not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent, but to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ's will more faithfully. We recall the waters of baptism in which we were also baptized into Christ's death, died to sin and evil, and began new life in Christ.Many know of the tradition of abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent, but we are also called to practice self-discipline and fast in other ways throughout the season. Contemplate the meaning and origins of the Lenten fasting tradition in this reflection. In addition, the giving of alms is one way to share God's gifts—not only through the distribution of money, but through the sharing of our time and talents. As St. John Chrysostom reminds us: "Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2446).
In Lent, the baptized are called to renew their baptismal commitment as others prepare to be baptized through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, a period of learning and discernment for individuals who have declared their desire to become Catholics.
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Stations of the Cross
The Stations of the Cross are a 14-step Catholic devotion that commemorates Jesus Christ's last day on Earth as a man. The 14 devotions, or stations, focus on specific events of His last day, beginning with His condemnation.
WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT?
Here at St. Michael, the faithful are provided English guides for our Stations of the Cross. The priest/deacon along with candle-bearers move to the 14 stations, indicated by icons on the walls around the inside of the church. At each station, the faithful recall and meditate on a specific event from Christ's last day. Specific prayers are recited, then the priest/deacon moves to the next station until all 14 are complete.
Typically, the Eucharist will be exposed while Stations are occuring, so out of respect for the Eucharist, please reverence the Eucharist on the altar by bowing or genuflecting when you walk in and out of the church.
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Other Lenten Offerings
TBD! Come back for more information!
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