Letter from the Pastor
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February 14, 2026We begin the holy season of Lent this Wednesday. To mark this season of penance, we receive ashes on our heads as a sign of repentance. Ashes will be distributed at the daily Masses: 7:00 AM, 9:00 AM, Noon and 7:00 PM and a prayer service at 5:30 PM, with ashes distributed until 6:15 PM. A reminder is that Ash Wednesday is a day of strict fasting, only one full meal with two smaller meals for those from age 18-59, and all Catholics from the age of 14 until death, abstinence from meat of an animal or fowl.
On this last Sunday before Lent we say goodbye to “Alleluia” until the Great Alleluia of Easter Vigil, as we have three days to get ready for Lent.
The word Lent is German in origin lencten originally meant the season of spring, referring to the lengthening of days as reflected in the Saxon word for March- Lenctenmonat. Lent is a distinct season of the Church’s year. It goes from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday evening.
Lent is a time of faith-renewal. Fasting, almsgiving, and prayer are the three pillars of Lent, which are all grounded in the Sacred Scriptures. We are also called to a deepening of our praying, listening and studying of the Scriptures during Lent.
We begin Lent with the custom of placing ashes on our heads. The use of ashes is found in the Old Testament. As a form of humility and conversion, people would sit on a pile of ashes in sackcloth. Ashes, sackcloth and repentance go together. Yet despite the many references in Scripture, the use of ashes in the Church had a slow start. It wasn’t until the beginning of the 11th century that it was customary for all the faithful to take part in a ceremony on the Wednesday before Lent that included the imposition of ashes. Near the end of that century, Pope Urban II called for the general use of ashes on that day. Only later did this day come to be called Ash Wednesday.
When we receive ashes on our foreheads, we remember where we came from, and we know how we will end. We remember that we are creatures of the earth ("Remember that you are dust"). We remember that we are mortal beings ("and to dust you will return"). We remember that we are baptized. We remember that we are people on a journey of conversion ("Repent and believe in the gospel"). We remember to Whom we belong.
So, starting this Wednesday, once again we are invited by the Church to begin the ascent to a holy mountain. Our preparation for Easter should be seen as a journey. It will be an uphill struggle for some; climbing is never easy. But the goal is to meet where God’s glory and love is revealed: the mountaintop of Easter, where we can sing forever:Alleluia, Christ is truly Risen! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!!
Use these next three days to examine your life, your heart, and your soul and ask,
what do I need to repent from,
what do I need to change in my life,
to become a better, holier follower of our Lord?Have a Blessed Lent!