Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Mary’s of the Lake:



This coming Wed March 6 we will celebrate Ash Wednesday and begin the Season of Lent –a 40-day period of preparation before Easter. Please plan to go to church on Ash Wed to ‘kick off’ the Season of Grace.  (Mass will be at 8:30 am & 5 pm in Lakewood and 6:30 pm in Wabeno). When we receive Ashes on our foreheads, we will receive an exhortation, ‘Repent and Believe in the Gospel.’ As you might know: ‘Lent’ is the term that has its root to mean a ‘springtime.” When we experience bitter cold in the winter, it is natural for us to ‘Think Spring’. When springtime comes, things are renewed: The weather will be more pleasant. Birds will come back. Trees will bud forth, and green grass will reappear etc. In that spirit, the Church invites us to ‘Think Spring’ spiritually --i.e. To make use of the season of Lent to repent & renew ourselves so that we can lead our lives more & more in the way of the Gospel, and, with the help of God, we can bring about a spiritual springtime to our life of faith. Be sure to check the Church Bulletin each week and participate in various Lenten activities to help us live fully the spirit of Lent. May I invite you to plan to pray over the Scriptures and do some spiritual Lenten readings? The ‘Little Black Book’ and the Compass (our Diocesan newspaper) should be good sources for our spiritual readings. On Ash Wed we will also receive a Matthew Kelly’s Book entitled ‘The Biggest Lie in the History of Christianity’ to remind ourselves that the call to holiness is the call to all of us.

LENTEN REGULATIONS 

Each Catholic is asked to preserve the penitential purpose and character of Lent, which begins Ash Wednesday. Catholics who have celebrated their 14th birthday are to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, all Fridays in Lent and Good Friday. In addition to abstaining from meat, Catholics who have celebrated their 18th birthday until they celebrate their 59th birthday are to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Those who are bound to this regulation may only eat one full meal. Two smaller meals are permitted if necessary to maintain strength according to one’s needs, but eating solid foods between meals is not permitted. 

These practices are designed for spiritual growth. Catholics are not to excuse themselves lightly from these prescribed minimal penitential practices. 

In 2019, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 6, Good Friday, April 19, Easter Vigil April 20, and Easter Sunday April 21, 2019.

Fr. Philip

3 Traditional Lenten Disciplines:
Praying, Fasting & Alms-giving