Lent begins Wednesday, February 18, and extends until Holy Thursday, April 2. Lent is the penitential season of the Church year, calling all Christians to penance and reconciliation. Ash Wednesday, the Fridays of Lent and Good Friday are days of abstinence from meat. On those days, all who are 14 years old and above are asked not to eat meat (beef, chicken, pork, lamb, etc.). There is no upper age limit to the law of abstinence. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, those between the ages of 18 and 59 are asked to fast. On these days, we eat one full meal and two smaller meals, without snacks during the day. Those whose health could be negatively affected by fasting are automatically dispensed from fasting. Fasting and abstinence offer us the opportunity to be bound together in a common practice of penance, observed by all on the same days. As such, we support and encourage one another.
In addition to penance, Lent is traditionally a time for prayer and almsgiving/care for the poor. Through these three good works, we deepen our relationship to and our dependence upon the Lord. The parish gives copies of The Little Black for Lent/El Librito Negro to assist in our daily prayer, offering a brief meditation for each day of the season. Remaining copies are in the vestibule in both languages. On Ash Wednesday, ashes will be blessed and imposed on all during Mass that day. At Saint Clare, Masses will be at 8:00 am (English), 12:10 pm (English/Spanish), 5:30 pm (English) and 7:00 pm (Spanish). We hear the call to repentance (“Repent, and believe in the Gospel”) as we are marked with ashes is also a communal act of recognizing our humanity, which is prone to failures in living the life of Christ, and our commitment to reform our lives.
An annual collection will be taken up for the Churches in Eastern and Central Europe on Ash Wednesday. About this collection: After the collapse of the communist system in the late 1980s, the bishops of the United States established the Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe in 1991 to help restore the Church by supporting evangelization, seminary education, family ministries, and construction projects to restore church structures damaged by years of neglect. Lent is a special time of preparation for our Catechumens, who will approach the waters of Baptism, be sealed with the “Gift of the Holy Spirit” in Confirmation, and share at the Table of the Eucharist for the first time, at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, April 4. On the First Sunday of Lent, we will send them to the Bishop for the Rite of Election. During the Period of Purification and Enlightenment, we will celebrate “scrutinies,” penitential rites to “uncover and heal what is weak, defective, or sinful and to strengthen what is upright, strong, and good.” We surround our catechumens with the love of Christ and offer them our example of Christian living, praying for them in special ways these 40 days.
The Gospel Readings that we will hear at Sunday Masses this Lent are those chosen and required to be used during the Masses with scrutinies: The Woman at the Well (from John 4 on the 3rd Sunday), The Man Born Blind (John 9, 4th Sunday), and The Raising of Lazarus from the Dead (John 11, 5th Sunday). We, though already baptized, are also given the opportunity through these celebrations to be renewed in living water, restored sight and the promise of new life. The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick will be celebrated at all weekend liturgies on February 28-29, the Second Sunday of Lent. As we hear the Gospel reading of Jesus’ Transfiguration – by which He was strengthened for the Passion that was still to come – may our ill and elderly parishioners also find strength and consolation in the Anointing that they will receive. Friday Evenings at Saint Clare: All are welcome to gather for a simple Soup Supper on the Friday evenings of Lent, bringing a meatless soup to be shared with others. The parish provides bread, butter and water and lemonade. We will begin at 6:00 in the Small Hall, except on February 27, due to a scheduling conflict. At 7:00, we will pray the Stations of the Cross (bilingually, in English and Spanish). We usually conclude at 7:30 pm. Join us on the Fridays you are able for Soup and Stations! Parish Reconciliation Liturgies (including confessions) are scheduled for Tuesday evening of Holy Week and the Saturday before Palm Sunday.