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Friends of the Rosary:
Today, Ash Wednesday, is the beginning of Lent, a season for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, in remembrance of the Forty Days of Jesus Christ’s penance in the desert.
The faithful solemnity observe the redemption of the human race by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, a central act of history,
The beginning of Lent is marked by the symbol of ashes, which is used in today’s mass.
The blessed ashes are imparted on the faithful as a sign of conversion, penance, and fasting. The priest says, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” [Mark 1.15].
The act of putting on ashes symbolizes fragility and human mortality, and the need to be redeemed by the mercy of God.
The sacramental of the ashes is made from the palms used at the previous Passion Sunday ceremonies.
The Catholic Church retains the use of ashes to symbolize the attitude of internal penance to which all the baptized are called during Lent.
Regarding abstinence and fasting, we observe:
- Abstinence from eating meat is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during Lent. This applies to all persons 14 years of age and older.
- Fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday applies to all Catholics who have completed their eighteenth year to the beginning of their sixtieth year. A person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal.
Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!
+ Mikel A. | RosaryNetwork.com, New York
