Ash Wednesday takes place 46 days before Easter, which lands this year on March 27th. If it all feels early that’s because it is.
“Easter is almost the earliest it can be,” explains Father Leonard DePasquale I.M.C., pastor of St. Bernardine Parish, San Bernardino. “It’s overwhelming to us [priests] too! All of a sudden it’s here. But we learn in Advent time to be prepared. So get ready, let’s go!”
As Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, we mark our foreheads as well; the cross a sign of remorse, the burnt palms our mortality.
“It keeps us humble and reminds us that we are on borrowed time,” said Art Castellanos, parishioner of The Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Redlands, “from ashes we come, from ashes we will return.”
Ash Wednesday joins Christmas and Easter as one of the most well attended days of the year in a Catholic church and while that’s good, said Fr. DePasquale, remember the “big picture.”
“We want to seek God’s mercy but some people want a quick fix,” he says. “Walking with Jesus is a lifelong thing.”
Catholics seeking a meaningful Lent need to tune out in order to tune in.
“Ash Wednesday is a good start,” says Father Tom Burdick, Pastor of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Parish in Winchester. “Then, simplify your life, have less distractions, go to Mass.”
The huge crowds that are seen on Ash Wednesday may include those who haven’t been to Mass in a while. No matter, says Fr. DePasquale, the ashes and the renewal that comes with them are for all.
“Deep in our hearts there is the search for God. We want to discover God’s love. God is calling us on a journey.”
If Ash Wednesday is the start of a renewed journey in faith, it continues when you get involved with your local parish.
“Come back and try to make connections. Join returning Catholic programs, join clubs, get to know people,” encouraged Fr. Burdick, who is the Vicar Forane for the Hemet Vicariate.
The Lenten season emphasizes compassion and charity for those most in need, a theme amplified in the current Year of Mercy. Pope Francis calls it “…a time to offer everyone, everyone, the way of forgiveness and reconciliation.” Local priests are answering that call with a marathon of mercy.
“We’re hearing confessions 24 hours straight along with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament,” announced Fr. DePasquale, who is the Vicar Forane for the San Bernardino Vicariate. This special session starts March 11th at Our Lady of Hope Church in San Bernardino. Catholics in the Diocese will also have a chance reflect on mercy by participating in devotionals such as praying the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross during Lent.
Children are invited because Fr. DePasquale believes “they can like Lent if they participate in meaningful ways.”
The Castellanos family does just that.
“I try to get my kids to volunteer for something like a food drive. Or if we see a homeless person, give them a blanket or a meal,” said Art Castellanos.
Children under 14 years of age are not required to fast on Fridays but that doesn’t mean they can’t experience some form of sacrifice, asserted Fr. Burdick.
“It can be hard for parents to deny their children. But denial is key in spirituality and in life.”
Arnold Corpus, parishioner of Christ the Redeemer in Grand Terrace, starts with a group goal.
“As a family, we always try to give up pork. We also let the kids choose something on their own.”
10 year old Aileen Corpus is giving up the one thing she enjoys most.
“Well, TV. When I watch TV, I don’t do anything else. I’ll try to read more books and study more and do better in school,” she says.
This type of sacrifice strengthens us to do good and leave sin behind, says Fr. DePasquale.
He, too, will give up something he loves.
“We give up meat on Fridays but I like fish. I may have to sacrifice seafood.”
Natalie Romano is a freelance writer and a parishioner of The Holy Name of Jesus in Redlands.