Our observance of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 14. While not a holy day of obligation, Ash Wednesday Mass is a beautiful way to begin the season. Lent is a time of grace, renewal and conversion; a time when we are called by the Gospel to the penitential practices of prayer, reconciliation and almsgiving. In addition, we are called by the Church to fasting and abstinence; worship, and works of mercy. Throughout the season of Lent, which lasts approximately 40 days, all of these actions prepare us for the celebration of Holy Week and Easter during which we recall Christ’s passion, death and resurrection.
