Lent

when we go to that early Mass on Ash Wednesday morning and receive the blessed ashes on our forehead, we are repeating a somber, pious act that Catholics have been undergoing for over 1,500 years.

As the penitential season of Lent begins, we Catholics, like Christians everywhere, prepare to commemorate the passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Lent can feel a lot like a competition, a 40-day spiritual marathon with winners and losers.

There is a flurry of consternation about how we are supposed to celebrate Valentine’s Day without letting it overshadow the beginning of Lent.