Pope Francis, in his Lenten message 2018 says, by devoting more time to prayer, we enable our hearts to root out our secret lies and forms of self-deception, and then find the consolation God offers.
“I stipulate that the celebration of Ash Wednesday will be held on Thursday (February 15) from morning to evening. Meanwhile, receiving ashes at the sub-stations can also be done on Sunday, February 19 2024,” said Bishop Hormat.
The Pope said that the ashes reminds us of who we are, recalling the “essential truth of our lives: that the Lord alone is God and we are the work of His hands.”
Reflection Date: February 22, 2023
Lent literally means, ‘spring,’ the season to sow seeds of good thoughts and actions - the season to return to the ways of God, from which we have strayed.
Ash Wednesday begins on March 2, marking the 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving within the Catholic Church. Christian leaders have urged the faithful to pray for people suffering due to the war in Ukraine while calling for an unconditional ceasefire.
The 40 days of Lent are to be an imitation of Jesus’ 40 days in the desert. In fact, we are called not only to “imitate” Jesus’ time in the desert, we are called to live this time with Him, in Him and through Him.
