+Ash Wednesday+ ...

   "Jesus, I give You my whole heart and my whole will.  

They once rebelled against You, 

but now I dedicate them completely to You…

Receive me, and make me faithful until death.” 

 St. Alphonsus Liguori

____________________________

ASH WEDNESDAY*

"Give me, good Lord,

a full faith and a fervent charity, 

a love of You, good Lord, incomparably above the love 

of myself; and that I love nothing that displeases You

but everything for the sake of You.

Take from me, good Lord, this lukewarm -- 
or rather cold-hearted -- way of meditation and 

this dullness in praying to You.  And give me warmth,
delight, and life in thinking of You.

And give me grace to long for Your holy Sacraments, 

and specifically to rejoice in the presence of Your 

Blessed  Body, sweet Savior Christ, in the holy Sacrament 

of the altar, and duly to thank You for Your precious 

visitation through it; and at that high Memorial, 

may I have grace to remember and consider 

Your most bitter passion with tender compassion."

St. Thomas More

________________________________

*ASH WEDNESDAY is solemnly observed by the Church to mark the beginning of the forty days of penance in the Lenten season. The faithful who attends the Mass on this day will be marked on the forehead with a CROSS of ASHES as a sign of conversion, penance, fasting and human mortality.  

Ash Wednesday in Iraq. DoD Photo (Spc Daniel Schneider)

And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him;
and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. - Ecclesiastes 4:12

During Lent, we are called to prayer, fasting and almsgiving. They are the "three-fold cord" spoken of in Ecclesiastes 4:12. Satan will not prevail against us if we follow Christ's call to use this three-fold cord as a basis for our Christian walk.

"Act, and God will act. " -  St Joan of Arc

 

Prayer is good when accompanied

by fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness.

A little with righteousness is better than much with wrongdoing.
It is better to give alms than to treasure up gold. - Tobit 12:8

Click here: Ash Wednesday & Lent in Two Minutes - YouTub

Lent 2023: Lenten Penance and the Synodal Journey | Francis (full text)

"Dear brothers and sisters, may the Holy Spirit inspire 

and sustain us this Lent in our ascent with Jesus, 

so that we may experience his divine splendour and thus, 

confirmed in faith, persevere in our journey together wth him, 

glory of his people and light of the nations." - Pope Francis

_______________________________

Let us pray - one for the other - 

for perseverance, fidelity and conversion
in this Lenten season!