Religious Education & Faith Life

Next Wednesday 22 February is Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of Lent. 

The season of Lent is a period of forty days (not including Sundays), a time of preparation for the celebration of Easter. The word Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word for ‘spring time’ (lencten). It is a period of spiritual renewal. 

The liturgical season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, a day on which followers of Jesus receive a cross of ashes on their foreheads. The ashes come from palm branches, used at the previous year’s Passion (Palm) Sunday liturgy, then burned and kept until the following Ash Wednesday. 

This cross of ashes has its origin in Old Testament times, when mourners and penitents clothed themselves in sackcloth and covered their faces and hands with ashes or dust as a sign of repentance. Today, the ashes received on Ash Wednesday are a reminder that followers of Jesus are called to live the teachings of the Gospel. 

The liturgical colour for Lent is violet, a colour signifying penance.

To learn more about Lent click here.

Next week, students will be given a Project Compassion box to take home. Money donated during Project Compassion support Caritas Australia this Lenten season and help support vulnerable people around the world, now and For All Future Generations.

With the support of the St Helena’s Catholic Primary School community, Caritas Australia has been able to support people around the world to tackle poverty, food security, education, water and sanitation and disaster risk reduction. Project Compassion 2023 reminds us that the good that we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come.