Ash Wednesday - March 5, 2025

Rooted in the Old Testament, ash is a symbol of repentance and humility. Receiving ashes, fasting, and abstinence mark the beginning of Lent, a time of penitential renewal through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  There will be the Annual Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe at all Masses.  Though a very outward sign, the ash is not about a public display of piety but a pilgrimage to a conversion of the heart.  Non-Catholics are welcomed to receive ash as it is not a sacrament.  Traditionally, churches will burn the palms from the previous Palm Sunday to make the ashes.  The beginning of Lent hearkens its end, binding our renewal with Christ's passion, death, and resurrection.  Like many churches nowadays, we do not burn their own ash.