Ash Wednesday Services

Ash Wednesday Services for Wednesday, March 5

Mass Times – 6:30am, 8:15am, 7:00pm
The 8;15 Mass will be livestreamed

Prayer Services with Ashes – 12:15pm and 5:30pm

The season of Lent begins on March 5 with Ash Wednesday. This day is so important to the start of Lent and our preparation for the coming Passion of Holy Week and Resurrection of Christ.

The ceremony of Ash Wednesday dates back to at least the 8th century. The ashes that are used each year are made by burning the palms used on Palm Sunday of the previous year and are sprinkled with holy water and fumigated with incense.

In the Old Testament times, ashes were used to express sorrow for sin. This visible sign represented an interior conversion.

Lent is a special time when we are to realize that life is passing quickly and we need to focus on turning away from sin and towards God. The ashes remind us that we are mortal beings and it is to dirt that our bodies will return. The ashes not only signify death but victory over death as the ashes that our bodies will become after we die will be re-formed into a resurrected body when Christ comes again in glory.

Receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday is a beautiful symbol that when we participate in the glorious resurrection of Christ.