My Dear Friends,

This week begins the great season of Lent, starting with Ash Wednesday this Wednesday. As Catholics, we are obligated to fast on the days of Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. We are also obligated to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesdays and the Fridays of Lent, including Good Friday. Of course, there is nothing to stop you from fasting on other days and from abstaining from meat on other days as well.

It is also customary to give up something else that you find pleasurable during Lent as a way to discipline yourself—whether it is coffee, candy and other sweets, beer and wine and liquor, television, snacks between meals, or donuts. Whatever you decide to give up for Lent, you are able to indulge on two days during Lent: the Solemnity of St. Joseph and the Solemnity of the Annunciation. Catholics are not called to fast or abstain on solemnities. This also goes for Sundays, since Sundays (even in Lent) are solemnities that recall the Resurrection.

There are other things Catholics do during Lent. As you will hear on Ash Wednesday, if you come to Mass for ashes, you are called to pray, fast, and give alms (charity). By the way, Ash Wednesday is an important day, but it is not a Holy Day of Obligation; you are not required to attend Mass nor are you obligated to receive ashes. Catholics during Lent, besides fasting and giving something up, add more prayer times to their spiritual life: reading the Bible every day (especially the passion narratives in the four gospels), saying an extra rosary, attending weekday Masses, attending Eucharistic Adoration, going to confession, reading a spiritual book, or meditating on the gospel in a quiet place (especially instead of watching television).

In our parish here at Our Lady of Hope, we have several times scheduled for confessions: Mondays at Immaculate Conception from 5:00–6:00 (with adoration available during that time); Wednesdays at Immaculate Heart of Mary from 6:00–6:45 (also with adoration available from 5:00–6:45 on those evenings); and Saturdays in Immaculate Heart of Mary from 3:30–4:45. Besides Mondays and Wednesdays, we also have Eucharistic Adoration on Tuesdays from 5:00–7:00 in Immaculate Heart of Mary. During First Fridays, there is adoration in the morning from 8:30–9:30 in Immaculate Conception and 7:00–8:00 pm in Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Daily Masses are more difficult for many people because our daily Masses are not at a time helpful for those who work in the morning. But if you can make daily Mass, we have Masses at 8:00 am every day but Thursday (Monday and Wednesday in Harwinton, and Tuesday and Friday in New Hartford) and 9:00 am on First Saturday in Immaculate Heart of Mary. We also have a Mass every Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm in Harwinton. This Mass is celebrated in Latin. Stations of the Cross are on Fridays during Lent (12:10 pm in New Hartford and 7:00 pm in Harwinton).

I am also offering a weekly discussion on the Christmas book this parish received, 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory. We will meet at 7:10 pm on Tuesday evenings for about an hour, beginning on March 11th and ending on April 15th. Our first discussion will take care of the introduction to the book, then the next four weeks we will discuss the chapters of the four weeks. During Holy Week, we will finish with the conclusion and consecration.

Lent is a preparatory time to grow spiritually and to leave sin behind as we move towards Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Let us as a parish prepare well for the great season of Lent so we can celebrate the new life offered on Easter as we turn away from sin and believe in the gospel. God bless.

BACK TO LIST