The Season of Lent Begins

The season of Lent is here, with Ash Wednesday marking the first 40 days of celebration and prayer for Christians. Father Tyler Bischoff, the Administrator for All Saints Catholic Parish, said, “Ash Wednesday is a celebration in the church where we begin our 40 days of our Lent and observance. So it’s about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and so for many centuries we Christians, we mark our forehead as a sign of repentance that we want to allow the Lord’s grace and love to change our lives.” He said, “We use these next 40 days to grow closer to the Lord, so that we can celebrate his resurrection.”

Lent and Ash Wednesday start after Mardi Gras, or better known as “Fat Tuesday”, which is the last day and night. Members of the church can enjoy foods and behaviors they would abstain from during Lent, and can not indulge in until Easter. Bischoff said, “One of the traditions with Lent of course is fasting, and it can take a lot of different forms, like I want to give up chocolate or I want to give up social media.” He said, “Fasting can also be not just what we give up, but also what we wanna do, more like charitable actions, or volunteering at the friendship room at our Parish soup kitchen. Any of those things can be a type of fasting.”

Those who are busy during Lent still have plenty of options to stay true during the celebration of Lent. With churches open for silent prayer throughout the season all day, and at Saint Perish switching between morning and evening every Friday, Stations of the Cross will be available. Included in the traditions of Lent is to give up meat on Fridays. Bischoff said, “Another popular Catholic tradition for Lent is the giving up of meat on Fridays, and so in its place we eat fish often, so a fish fry. I know our sister parish at Saint Rose has a fish fry every Friday for entering into that fasting end of Lent, so those are some activities we have going on and of course, mass every Sunday.”