Lenten Season

Fasting is about more than refraining from food or other pleasures. In this reading for Ash Wednesday from the Prophet Isaiah, the Lord explains that fasting that does not lead to works of charity does us no good. This is good advice as we begin our Lenten journey. In most Catholic parishes, groups of adults prepare to receive the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil through a process known as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. The traditional Lenten practices of fasting, prayer and almsgiving are still observed, but are done so with the purpose of recalling our baptism and in solidarity with those preparing to be baptized and received into the Church.