ON ASH WEDNESDAY…

Jesus, in Matthew's Gospel, calls us to pray, to fast, and to give alms: ‘when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,’ ‘when you fast, do not look gloomy,’ ‘when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing’ (Mt 6:5,16,3 respectively).   As a Church, we are called, beginning on Ash Wednesday, to pray, to fast and to give alms so that we may grow in our faith to meet the resurrected Lord on Easter.

PRAYER

    that process of listening to and responding to God's daily call, sustains and strengthens our relationship with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Without prayer, personal and communal, this relationship is weakened, sometimes to the point of complete silence on our part. Every day the Spirit of Jesus invites us to enter into that serious conversion that leads to blessed communion.  This Lent seek those opportunities to have a conversation with Jesus, whether through private prayers at home or join the parish community in our Lenten devotions.

FASTING

    a very special form of penance, and Jesus' second call, has been a consistent part of our Catholic tradition. Fasting assists us in getting our own house in order. All of us have to deal with areas of dependency, whether in regard to smoking or alcohol consumption, misused sexuality, uncontrolled gambling, psychological hang-ups, spiritual obsessions, use of stimulants, immoderate use of the Internet, excessive amounts of television watching, or preoccupations with other forms of entertainment. By fasting and self-denial, by living lives of moderation, we have more energy to devote to God's purposes and a better self-esteem that helps us to be more concerned with the wellbeing of others.  During this Lent, rid yourself of the extra “clutter” in your life and replace that clutter with disciplines that will help you to grow closer to Jesus.

ALMSGIVING

    the third call of the Lord is to give alms. Jesus was always concerned about those who were poor and in need. He was impressed by the widow who, though having so little, shared her resources with others: "I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood" (Lk 21:3-4). To be a disciple of Christ means to live a life of charity.  This Lent as a parish we will be collecting change in baby bottles for the Visitation House in Worcester to help mothers who have chosen life.

Obligations regarding FASTING and ABSTINENCE

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are required days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics.  In addition, Fridays during Lent are days of abstinence.
 
Fasting is required from age 18 until age 59, when fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. Abstinence from meat is required for those age 14 and older.