After the celebrations of Mardi Gras have completed, this Wednesday - Ash Wednesday - marks the beginning of Lent, the great penitential season commemorating the forty days that Jesus was in the desert before beginning his public ministry (Matt. 4; Mk. 1:12-13; Lk. 4:1-13). In a way, we are also called to walk in a spiritual desert, a place of dryness, in the footsteps of Jesus.

On Ash Wednesday we have ashes placed on our forehead to remind us of our fallen state into sinfulness, a symbol that appears many times in the Old Testament (Esther 4; Job 42:6; Jonah 3:6; Daniel 9:3, to name a few.) Customarily, the ashes comes from burning the palms used the previous Palm Sunday, thus "tying" these two important aspects of the season together. Ash Wednesday is also a day of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. 

According to Church law, Catholics older than the age of 14 are supposed to abstain from meat. In addition, those between the ages of 18 and 59, not including pregnant or nursing mothers, should eat only one full meal. Smaller amounts of food not as much as a full meal may be eaten in the morning and either at lunchtime or dinner, depending on when you eat your full meal.

Each Lent, but more especially in this Jubilee Year of Mercy, we are encouraged not only to engage in the penitential practices described above (and other acts of private self-mortification), but also to engage in positive aspects, particularly those of the Works of Mercy. These are:

• Corporal Works of Mercy
  To Feed the Hungry
  To Give Drink to the Thirsty
  To Clothe the Naked
  To Care for the Sick
  To Visit the Imprisoned
  To Bury the Dead
• Spiritual Works of Mercy
  To Convert Sinners
  To Instruct the Ignorant
  To Advise the Doubtful
  To Comfort the Sorrowful
  To Bear Wrongs Patiently
  To Forgive Injuries
  To Pray for the Living and the Dead

So we are challenged to do a little more than give up candy this Lent. We can do things that both remind us of the essential need we have for God's forgiveness as well as help us to see the ways we are called to extend that divine mercy to others. Are we up to that challenge? If so, we can also be assured of God's strength and patience, even in the midst of our daily challenges, as well as the glory that He offers to us as His children!

For more information on Church practice regarding Lent, please see: