Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 22nd, Ash Wednesday, is the first day of Lent, the season of preparation for the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. Ash Wednesday always falls 46 days before Easter. Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation; however, we are called and encouraged to attend Mass on this day in order to mark the beginning of the Lenten season. During Mass, the ashes which give Ash Wednesday its name are distributed. The ashes are made by burning the blessed palms that were distributed the previous year on Palm Sunday. Thank you for returning the blessed palms; they will be burned after the 8:00 a.m. Mass on Tuesday to be ready for Wednesday. You are welcome to come and pray as they burn.

On Wednesday, the ashes are blessed by the priest and sprinkled with holy water. The faithful come forward to receive them. The priest dips his right thumb in the ashes and, making the Sign of the Cross on each person's forehead, says, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return" or “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” The distribution of ashes reminds us of our own mortality and calls us to repentance. In the early Church, Ash Wednesday was the day on which those who had sinned and who wished to be readmitted to the Church would begin their public penance. The ashes that we receive are a reminder of our own sinfulness, and we leave them on our foreheads all day as a sign of humility.

Fasting and Feasting
“Lent should be more than a time of fasting. It should be a joyous season of feasting. Lent is a time to fast from certain things and to feast on others.
It is a season in which we should:
Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of all life.
Fast from thought of illness; feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute; feast on the phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger; feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.
Fast from worry; feast on hope.
Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives.
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from discouragement; feast on hope.
Fast from suspicion; feast on truth
Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.”

--- a reflection by William Arthur Ward

Finally, make a better effort to pray and come to the Eucharist more than once a week.