Catholic Church

Authored By: Pope Benedict XVI - Dear Brothers and Sisters… Today, Ash Wednesday, we are beginning the Lenten Journey, a journey that takes 40 days and brings us to the joy of the Lord's Pasch. On this spiritual journey we are not alone because the Church accompanies and supports us from the outset with the word of God, which contains a programme of spiritual life and penitential commitment, and with the grace of the sacraments…. The Apostle Paul's words give us a precise order "We entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain.... Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation"…

By Deacon Keith Fournier - “Lent”… The word is derived from an old English term referring to the “lengthening” of the hours of the day each year. It falls in the transition time when we move from the barrenness of winter with its long periods of darkness into the verdant new life and longer days of sunshine we call spring. This Season continues for forty days until the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. Then, the Easter “Triduum” (three days) lead us through death and into life, culminating in the Victory Feast of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

By Msgr. Charles Pope - There is a great sense of urgency in the readings for Ash Wednesday. It is as if some great event is looming that could be awesome, but only if the warning is heeded. Consider this selection from the first reading (Joel 2:12-18): “Even now,” says the LORD, “Return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God.”… Sound the trumpet in Zion! Proclaim a fast, call an assembly; gather the people! Assemble the elders; gather the children, even the infants at the breast.