• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
(Sara Travlos/CR graphic)

Come home for Lent

March 1, 2018
By Emily Rosenthal Alster
Filed Under: Feature, Lenten Resources, Local News, News, Worship & Sacraments

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Lent, one of the most important liturgical seasons, began Ash Wednesday Feb. 14, and will run until Holy Thursday March 29.

According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, it is a time to “devote ourselves to seeking the Lord in prayer and reading Scripture, to service by giving alms, and to sacrifice self-control through fasting.”

Here are some of the ways to fulfill that call.

Reconciliation

Every parish in the archdiocese will host the sacrament of reconciliation March 19. (Contact your parish for specific times.) The idea originated among a small group of pastors, who gather as a council for Archbishop William E. Lori.

The opportunity comes during a time, said auxiliary Bishop Adam J. Parker, which allows Catholics to focus on any obstacles preventing full devotion to the faith.

“We realize that this sacrament cleanses us of our sins,” Bishop Parker said, “which allows us to grow in our relationship with the Lord.”

To learn more about the sacrament of reconciliation, listen to Father Brian Nolan from Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg speak on the topic on Catholic Baltimore below.

Pray, reflect

Father Patrick Carrion offers an annual Lenten activity at the Catholic Community of South Baltimore. This year, it is a Lenten Communal Prayer, focused on violence. The parish provides prayer cards for a local cause, the more than 340 victims of homicide in Baltimore City in 2017; a global cause, human trafficking; and a faith-based cause, 21st-century martyrs.

The Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland provides a five-minute reflection every weekday during Lent. It can be read it on the parish website, or received by email. In Towson, the Church of the Immaculate Conception offers Worship Wednesdays during lunch hour. Get back to the basics with a brief Mass and fellowship lunch (wraps available for cash purchase).

For more information on other Lenten-themed events, see the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s calendar here.

Discipline

As Lent arrives, so do the struggles over what to “give up.” In recent years, adding a practice has become a popular method to fulfilling one’s Lenten duty. It does not matter what you choose, Bishop Parker said, as long it is done for the right reason.

“Whatever Lenten disciplines that one might choose should help bring us closer to the Lord,” Bishop Parker said. “It’s got to be centered on Christ and our relationship

with him.”

With any discipline, Bishop Parker encourages Catholics to get started – and to pick up yourself and start over again if you fail along the way.

Give

In addition to stopping at the poor box and increasing your offertory, give of yourself. One way to volunteer is with the Women’s Education Alliance, which sends mentors to Baltimore’s four Partners in Excellence K-8 schools.

Fasting

While abstaining from meat on Fridays, engage with your parish community by sharing a meal. Many have fish frys.

Also see:

Ash Wednesday slideshow featuring five parishes

 

 

 

Print Print

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

Emily Rosenthal Alster

Click here to view all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • Hunt Valley parishioner recalls her former student – a future pope

  • superman Movie Review: ‘Superman’

  • Deacon Gary Elliott Dumer Jr., active in men’s ministry, dies

  • Loyola University Maryland graduate ordained Jesuit priest

  • Pope Leo visits Italian Carabinieri station, Poor Clares during summer break

| Latest Local News |

Father Robert Wojsław dies at 52

Scopes Monkey Trial ignited century-long debate on evolution and belief 

Deacon Gary Elliott Dumer Jr., active in men’s ministry, dies

Radio Interview: The music and ministry of Seph Schlueter

Hunt Valley parishioner recalls her former student – a future pope

| Latest World News |

Church of England weighs proposal to place St. Thomas More’s skull in shrine for veneration

Stop the hatred; humanity is at stake, Pope Leo says in video message

As excavation begins at Irish maternity home, Catholic experts urge fact-based news reporting

White House agrees to exempt PEPFAR from rescissions package

From Boston to Baton Rouge, faithful unite to help Texas flood victims

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Church of England weighs proposal to place St. Thomas More’s skull in shrine for veneration
  • Father Robert Wojsław dies at 52
  • Stop the hatred; humanity is at stake, Pope Leo says in video message
  • As excavation begins at Irish maternity home, Catholic experts urge fact-based news reporting
  • Question Corner: Can we bring the Precious Blood to the sick?
  • Impact of DOGE cuts on migrants, refugees
  • White House agrees to exempt PEPFAR from rescissions package
  • From Boston to Baton Rouge, faithful unite to help Texas flood victims
  • New Catholic scouting patch honors Pope Leo XIV

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

en Englishes Spanish
en en