{"id":14225,"date":"2021-02-09T11:54:08","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T16:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fallriverdiocese.org\/?p=14225"},"modified":"2023-11-06T18:16:23","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T18:16:23","slug":"ash-wednesday-is-february-17-marks-beginning-of-lent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fallriverdiocese.org\/pt-pt\/news\/ash-wednesday-is-february-17-marks-beginning-of-lent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ash Wednesday is February 17; Marks Beginning of Lent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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FALL RIVER \u2014 Lent, the forty-day season of prayer, sacrifice and almsgiving in preparation for the joyous celebration of Easter, begins on Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parishes throughout the Fall River Diocese will mark the start of Lent with the traditional rite of distribution of ashes. Symbolic of penance, ashes are blessed and distributed on that day as a reminder that Lent is a time for repentance and spiritual renewal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January, the Vatican gave guidance on the distribution of ashes amid the coronavirus pandemic. In its January 12th<\/sup> \u201cNote on Ash Wednesday,\u201d the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments directed priests to say the formula for distributing the ashes once to everyone present, rather than to each person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The priest \u201caddresses all those present and only once says the formula as it appears in the Roman Missal, applying it to all in general: \u2018Repent, and believe in the Gospel,\u2019 or \u201cRemember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,\u2019\u201d the note said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cNote\u201d continued: \u201cThe priest then cleanses his hands, puts on a face mask and distributes the ashes to those who come to him or, if appropriate, he goes to those standing in their places. The priest takes the ashes and sprinkles them on the head of each one without saying anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Catholic News Service, sprinkling ashes on the top of people\u2019s heads, rather than marking the foreheads with ashes, is the customary practice at the Vatican, throughout Italy and in some other countries. Given concern about the spread of the coronavirus, the practice has the advantage of not requiring the priest or deacon to touch multiple people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ash Wednesday in not a holyday of obligation and there is no requirement for the faithful to receive the imposition of ashes; it is, however, a day that traditionally draws Catholics to church. All safety protocols in place for worship during the pandemic including occupancy restrictions and socially-distanced seating will be followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Lent, the Church calls for days of abstinence and fasting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n