ASH WEDNESDAY

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent. It is also the time for remembering one's mortality. Catholics who attend the mass are blessed with ashes, in the shape of the cross. It is also a day of fasting.

Lent is a time of penance, so that the faithful may share in the joys of Easter Sunday. The three traditional forms of penance are:

1. fasting
2. prayer
3. almsgiving

Because of the austerity of Lent, Alleluia is not said in prayer or sung in liturgy. The GLORIA is not sung at Mass during Lent except for the few feasts and solemnities which may occur then. During Lent, “the altar is not to be decorated with flowers, and the use of musical instruments is allowed only to support the singing.”

The liturgical color of Lent is violet, just as for Advent.