On March 5, 2025, our community gathered together to celebrate Mass and enter into the season of Lent. We all received ashes on our foreheads, representing humility, mourning for our sins, penance, and morality.

While Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation, it is similar to Christmas and Easter where our attendance at Mass is far more substantial than every Sunday Mass. At the 7pm St. Paul Mass, we reached a record number of 310 participants, exceeding even our Easter Vigil attendance! We invite those who came out for Ash Wednesday to continue attending Mass regularly, especially on Sunday to fulfill your weekly obligation. As Father Jegar stated in his Ash Wednesday homily, “Satan doesn’t have to make us atheists, all he has to do is make us lukewarm… Christmas, Easter, and Ash Wednesday isn’t going to cut it.” Our community wants you, Jesus wants you!

As the Lenten Season begins, and we are called out into the desert with our Lord. As Catholics, we are required to fast from meat every Friday, but we are also invited to sacrifice something as a way to honor Christ’s sacrifice for us. This could be anything from a bad habit to something you may find yourself “idolizing” or putting before your relationship with our Lord (social media, swearing, fast food, etc.).
We also recommend that you take this time to build a good habit! A few examples are attending daily Mass, developing a prayer routine (maybe start your day with ten minutes each morning), or habitual attendance to Reconciliation (could be once a month!).

“Lent is the autumn of the spiritual life during which we gather fruit to keep us going for the rest of the year.”

St. Francis de Sales

If you weren’t able to attend Mass on Ash Wednesday, listen back to Father Jegar’s homily! As we enter into the season of Lent, let us remember that Christ is always calling us into a deeper relationship with Him and, through our own sacrifices, may we all be drawn closer to His most Sacred Heart. Have a fruitful Lent!