Lent calls Catholics to renew faith, deepen friendship with Christ
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February 25, 2020Lent, a forty-day season of repentance to help Catholics better appreciate the suffering death and Resurrection of Christ, begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 26.
Parishes throughout the four-county Diocese of Metuchen, which includes Somerset, Hunterdon, Middlesex and Warren, will mark the start of Lent with the distribution of ashes to the faithful, a reminder of their sinfulness and the power of God to create holy people out of sinners.
“By keeping our gaze fixed on Christ, we deepen our friendship with Him, and we better understand His mercy and love for us,” said the Most Rev. James F. Checchio, Bishop of Metuchen, in an Ash Wednesday video message to the faithful of the diocese. “We start to see within ourselves those areas of our lives that need to be converted, that we need to let go of, and sins we need to turn away from.”
During Lent, the Church calls for days of abstinence, which in the Catholic tradition means to abstain from meat; and fasting, which in the Catholic tradition means to limit oneself to one full meal and two smaller meals which together are not equal to a full meal, so as to experience hunger.
- The days of fast and abstinence are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
- All other Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence.
- The obligation of fast applies only to Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59.
- The obligation of abstinence applies to all Catholics who have reached the age of 14.
By their baptism, Catholics assume three lifelong disciplines – prayer, fasting and almsgiving – which help them return or stay committed to their baptismal promises. It is by following these disciplines that Catholics can keep their gaze fixed on Christ and become sensitive to the wounds of others, said Bishop Checchio.
“As we notice the wounds of Christ, we start to notice the wounds of other people hurting, those in need of our love and our mercy, too, so we turn and reach out to them during Lent,” said Bishop Checchio. “That’s one of the traditional practices of Lent – almsgiving – sharing what we have been given with others.”
The season of Lent calls all Catholics to return to the Lord anew with all their heart, mind and strength. During Lent, parishes often offer additional liturgical services, missions and retreats, and service opportunities to encourage spiritual growth. Parishioners should check their parish bulletins and websites for listings of such events.
“May Mary, our Mother, as we start this Lenten season, assist us to keep our gaze always on her son, especially this Lent, and Him on the cross to see his wounds,” said Bishop Checchio. “May we be reconciled to God and may we bring others to be so, too.”
