Dear Community of Saint Joseph’s;

 

This Wednesday the Church celebrates the beginning of the season of Lent. 

Lent is that period of time, before the great feast of the Resurrection of the Lord on Easter Sunday, when we willingly enter into a period of Fasting, Prayer and Penitence.  We begin this solemn period with our celebrations of Ash Wednesday.  

 

Richard McBrien writes in his “Encyclopedia of Catholicism,”

“On this day, ashes are blessed and applied to the foreheads of the faithful as a sign of penance.  In the fourth century, public penitents dressed in sackcloth and were sprinkled with ashes to show their repentance.  The practice of public penance gradually died out.  By the eleventh century, it had become customary for the faithful to receive ashes at the beginning of Lent, the season of penance in preparation for the celebration of Easter.  On Ash Wednesday, ashes may be distributed during Mass, usually after the homily, or outside of Mass; in the latter case, the    distribution takes place as a part of a Liturgy of the Word.  The traditional formula for the placing of ashes on the forehead is, “Remember you are dust and will return to dust.” 

 

Coming to Mass or a Word service on Wednesday to be signed with ashes is only the beginning of a commitment to the themes of the Lenten season.  This is the time when we should commend ourselves a significant time of prayer – either liturgical or personal.  We should consider eating less and sacrificing certain aspects of our lives in order to spend more time in reflection or charity.  Ash Wednesday is the beginning of that time when we examine our lives and see where we have turned away from God, our neighbor and the dignity of our very selves. 

Lent is a time for change.

 

We welcome you to our Ash Wednesday services.  But please consider that day the beginning of a time of transformation if your life.  It is a significant opportunity to draw closer to God and to the true meaning of your life,

your life with God….

                                  and with one another.

 

 

 

 

Matt Pennington

Pastor