Symbol of Lent: Ashes
In the early Church people performed public penance for sin by wearing sackcloth and being sprinkled with ashes. As that practice declined, it became customary to receive a mark of ashes in the form of a cross on one’s forehead at the beginning of Lent, which is an extended penitential period in preparation for the great festival of Easter. The ashes used are made by burning dried palms from the previous year. When receiving ashes on the forehead, the priest or minister of the ashes will usually pray using words such as, “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel” or “From dust you came, and to dust you shall return.”
LENTEN REGULATIONS REGARDING FAST & ABSTINENCE
The days of both Fast and Abstinence during Lent are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (Holy Saturday night) as the “paschal fast” to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily His Resurrection. The other Fridays of Lent are days of Abstinence.
On a day of Fast, only one full meal is permitted and two smaller meals which, if added together, would not exceed the main meal in quantity. Those between the ages of 18 and 59 are obliged to fast.
On a day of Abstinence, no meat may be eaten. Those who have reached the age of 14 are obliged by the law of abstinence.
The obligation to observe the laws of Fast and Abstinence “substantially,” or as a whole, is a serious obligation.
The Fridays of the year, outside of Lent, are designated as days of penance, but each individual may substitute for the traditional abstinence from meat some other practice of voluntary self-denial as penance.
The time for fulfilling the Paschal Precept (Easter Duty*) extends from the First Sunday of Lent, February 26, 2023 to The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, June 4, 2023.
*Canon 920, §1. All the faithful, after they have been initiated into the Most Holy Eucharist, are bound by the obligation of receiving Communion at least once a year.