Ash Wednesday

March 5, 2025 | 6:15 am, 8:10 am, 12:00 pm, & 7:00 pm

Ashes are rich in spiritual symbolism. We recall in the second chapter of Genesis, when the human person is fashioned “out of the dust of the ground” and receives the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). In death, a person returns to the ground from which we came. The ancient Hebrews used ashes as a sign of repentance, reminding themselves that God is God and we are not.

As the minister places ashes on our forehead, we hear either “Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return” or “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.” When we receive ashes, we remember our mortality. We’re reminded that we have limited time on this earth, and we ought to make the best use of it we can! People are in need of love, care, and compassion. We all need to continually rediscover the love of God. The Gospel invites every person in every stage of life to encounter and imitate Jesus here and now. The forty days of Lent are the perfect time to assess our own awareness of these realities. ©LPi

Fasting

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days for Catholics to fast and abstain. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.

For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms of fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards.

If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the "paschal fast" to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily his Resurrection.