Catholic Identity

Lent is the season of fasting and self-denial observed by many Christians in the days preceding Easter Sunday each year. The word “Lent” comes from a word meaning “lengthening days,” with the Lenten season consisting of forty fast days as days lengthen in early spring.

A REFLECTION FROM POPE FRANCIS 

To let your speech be full of grace and seasoned with salt is to speak the truth in love by being mindful that words have the power to break or connect communities. "If there is one word that we should never tire of repeating, it is this: dialogue. We are called to promote a culture of dialogue by every possible means and thus to rebuild the fabric of society.” Pope Francis- Address upon receiving the Charlemagne Prize, May 6, 2016 

In 2023 “Let the words you speak always be full of grace.” 

Each year the Church gives us six weeks to take a long, loving look at our lives to see if our values and priorities are in line with God's desires for us. Since most of us find that we've wandered from God's path, Lent becomes that second chance, or do-over, to “return to God with our whole heart.”

GOSPEL REFLECTION Link