Ash Wednesday
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which is observed as a universal day of fasting and abstinence from meat. Ashes, made from the burned palm of the previous Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, are imposed as a vivid reminder that we are all made from dust and that shortly we will return to dust again. Marked with ashes, we begin Lent with a determination to live the Christian life wholeheartedly as we await the day when we meet the Lord face to face.

Masses:  8:00 a.m.  Noon   7:00 p.m. 8:15 p.m. (Spanish)

Ashes will be blessed and distributed at all the Masses on Ash Wednesday. This year, due to COVID restrictions, the Holy See has directed that ashes be sprinkled on the top of each person’s head (as is commonly done in Europe) instead of touching the person’s forehead and the formula “Remember man that you are dust…” is only said once by the Priest before he begins and not in front of each person. All other COVID restrictions remain in place.

The Season of Lent
The 40 days of Lent are a period of penance for sins committed and of renewal of faith, hope and love. The first four weeks of Lent focus on our own conversion while the Fifth Week of Lent and Holy Week focus on the Passion and Death of the Lord Jesus. Lent is characterized by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These practices help us grow in the spiritual life, increase virtuous habits and exhibit self-discipline, which is necessary to live the Gospel. In the Scriptures, “forty
days” indicates “a long time” and was not intended to be a strict mathematical calculation.Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Thursday, the start of the Sacred Triduum.The Sundays of Lent are, of course, Lenten days and do not interrupt the Lenten Season.

Daily Mass
8:00 a.m. each morning Monday – Friday

Lenten Regulations
Fast – Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence from
meat. Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 inclusive are bound by the law of
fasting – limiting ourselves to one full meal and two lesser meals (with no eating
between meals) as an expression of penance.
Abstinence – Catholics aged 14 and older are bound to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent.

Stations of the Cross
7:00 p.m. on the Fridays of Lent
This year we will alternate each Friday having Stations of the Cross in English or Spanish.Having two sets of Stations on Friday evenings does not allow enough time to sanitize the Church between ceremonies.
February 19 th – Spanish           March 12 th – English
February 26 th – English            March 19 th – Spanish
March 5 th – Spanish                  March 26 th - English

Confessions
Confessions are heard on Saturday afternoons from 3 – 3:45 p.m. and
on Wednesdays from 7 – 7:30 p.m.
All Confessions are heard in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Fields

Almsgiving
Catholic Relief Services “Rice Bowl” – Through CRS Rice Bowl, we hear stories from our brothers and sisters in need worldwide, and devote our Lenten prayers, fasting and gifts to change the lives of the poor. Each day of Lent, individuals are invited to use the Lenten Calendar—included with every CRS Rice Bowl—to guide their Lenten almsgiving. These daily almsgiving activities—for example, give 25 cents for every faucet found in your home—help families reflect on the realities of our brothers and sisters around the world and how they can be in solidarity during the Lenten season. 
St. Vincent de Paul Society Food Pantry – baskets remain all year long at the front entrance to the church for donations of non-perishable food items for distribution at our Food Pantry on the third Saturday of each month. Please bring your donations as often as possible to assist those most in need.
The Annual Appeal – donations to the Archdiocesan Annual Appeal are always welcome to support the Church’s charitable works throughout our area. Envelopes are available.

From Father Woods
                                WHO HELPS?

Have you ever met a seminarian preparing for the Priesthood? Met a retired Priest? Have you or a loved one been a patient at a large hospital in Washington and needed a Priest? Has anyone you know received tuition assistance to a Catholic school? Ever consider how many Catholic nursing homes, low-income housing facilities, and daycares there are? Who provides the chaplaincies at prisons and colleges?

The common thread in all these things is the Annual Appeal of the Archdiocese of Washington. Too often we think of being Catholic as belonging to a parish. But the word Catholic means universal. We are part of the larger Church that is the diocese in union with Rome. In addition to all the things done by parishes, even larger things are the responsibility of the Archdiocese. How can we possibly meet these responsibilities? Once a year we take up a collection to do all the things an individual parish could never do.

Sadly, some people use giving or not giving to the Appeal as a demonstrate of their affection for or disagreement with the Archbishop. At times people will say, “I don’t like what Bishop so-and-so did or said so I’m not giving to the Appeal!” “I want all my money to stay in the parish!” Well, who does that help or hurt? The hungry, poor, uneducated, sick or victimized people don’t know anything about Church politics. All they know is that they went to the Church for help and the Church either provided or denied them that love, attention or assistance. The Archbishop makes no money on his own, so he only has what we give him to share with others.

This doesn’t mean we only give out money or food (which, of course, we do). We have structures in place to help put people back on the road to recovery and stability. We have access to medical care, housing, and shelter. We provide assistance for post-abortion trauma, the mentally ill, and the handicapped. The Catholic Church remains the largest non-governmental provider of assistance in the Washington metropolitan area. The numbers of people who participate in or benefit from the work of the Church is staggering.

That’s why we have the Appeal every year. The needs never stop coming in. Every Catholic should be proud of the Church’s work and feel like they share in it. It would be great if each of us would look at the Appeal literature and then dedicate ourselves to praying for one group of people affected by our charity each day. Whether we donate to the Appeal or not, we are all part of the Church and it’s the Church’s work that helps so many people. The Appeal allows us to do together things a parish could never do on its own.

Pope Francis has constantly reminded us that Jesus was born poor and came to serve the poor. He demanded that His disciples love one another and lift up those who need help lifting themselves up. Charity is not just a characteristic of goodie-goodie people. For the Christian, charity is a demand. It is the only way to follow Jesus. This charity takes many forms as we love our families, friends, coworkers and strangers. Pope Benedict XVI reminded us that anything beautiful is a reflection of the glory of God. Charity is beautiful. The annual Appeal is the Church at her most beautiful as the bride of Christ and mother of humanity.

The 2021 Annual Appeal is here! This year’s theme is Seeking Christ to remind us in this time of hardship and need that Christ is the one, true source of the healing, unity, and love that we all seek. Through our collective support of the Annual Appeal, we strengthen the Body of Christ that is our local Church, and we sustain her many charitable works that serve the spiritual and other needs of all those within and beyond our parish boundaries. Parishioners will be asked to make a commitment to the 2021 Annual Appeal next weekend. Your gift will also be credited towards our parish goal. Learn more about the Annual Appeal at appeal.adw.org.