CHARLOTTE — Ash Wednesday marks the start of the penitential season of Lent. It is a day of fasting, abstinence and prayer as Catholics prepared their hearts and minds for a spiritual journey over the next 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday.
Around the Diocese of Charlotte, people turned out by the thousands to receive ashes – a visible sign of our fragile humanity and that we are all sinners in need of a Savior.
In a video message and radio for Ash Wednesday, Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv., urged people to move from simply being believers to becoming disciples willing to carry Jesus’s message into the world:
“My call to all Christians, in particular to Catholics in our diocese here, is to use these 40 days to dig a little deeper and to see whether or not they’re open to exploring deeper relationship with Christ in the Church through discipleship.”
At Our Lady of Lourdes in Monroe, Father Benjamin Roberts encouraged parishioners to bring a non-perishable food item to church, pray for those who will receive it, and then give the item to the food drive, which perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the season.
— Photos by Troy C. Hull, Kevin Eagan, Lisa Geraci, Brian Segovia, Amelia Kudela, Amy Burger, Amy Miano, Nancy Broderick, Alfonso Alvarez-Navarrete and provided
St. Mark students, families urged to use Lent to grow in faith
During the 9 a.m. Ash Wednesday Mass at St. Mark Catholic Church, celebrated with students, faculty, families of St. Mark School as well as parishioners, Father John Putnam reminded the faithful that receiving ashes carries meaning only when it reflects a sincere desire for conversion. Lent, he said, is not a cultural gesture or a momentary tradition, but a season intentionally given to help Catholics grow in their relationship with Christ through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
“Ashes mean nothing if they don’t represent an internal reality, if they don’t represent something that’s going on within our hearts,” Father Putnam said. “Many people come on Ash Wednesday to receive ashes, and if that’s all they do, then it means nothing. Lent is given to us for a very specific reason: so that we might grow in our relationship with Christ, become more loving and charitable toward our neighbor, and deepen our relationship with God.”
“Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are not optional ideas,” he continued. “They are the path the Church gives us so that we can discipline ourselves, not allow our wants and desires to become idols in our lives, and become the people God created us to be.”
“It doesn’t matter what age we are,” Father Putnam said. “Every single one of us can do something in terms of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Lent is the time to decide intentionally how we are going to follow the Lord more faithfully.”
“Each of us does battle every day with temptation,” he added. “If we want to become holy, if we want to become the saints God created us to be, then we engage in that battle through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These forty days are given to us so that we can truly grow in our relationship with God and with our love for our neighbor.”
As St. Mark School preschoolers gathered in the Parish Hall to receive ashes on Ash Wednesday, Deacon Rich McCarron spoke to them in simple, familiar terms, helping them understand the meaning of the day through everyday examples of love, listening, and doing their best.
“You know what the ashes mean?” Deacon McCarron asked the children. “They remind us that Jesus loves you, and because He loves us, we try every day to be the best we can be.” He explained that Ash Wednesday is a special day when Catholics receive ashes as a reminder that sometimes we make mistakes, but we always try again. “It’s a time to remember to listen to our parents and teachers, to be kind, and to do good things for Jesus, for our families, and for each other.”
Deacon McCarron encouraged the children to let the ashes be a reminder from now until Easter to choose good behavior and loving actions. “If we can do it until Easter,” he said, “then we keep doing it after Easter, and our lives get better.”
As he moved around the room to distribute ashes, he reassured the children simply, saying to each one, “May God bless you,” marking them gently with the sign of the cross.
See photos from St. Mark Ash Wednesday services:
