As Pope Francis and Catholics throughout the world did on Ash Wednesday, March 2, Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory prayed and expressed solidarity with the people of Ukraine as they are enduring a brutal Russian military invasion of their country.
Prayer, charity and fasting have a medicinal power to purify oneself, help others and change history, Pope Francis wrote in a homily read by Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Among the world’s supply shortage, add to it the palm frond.
Priests in the Philippines will be allowed to mark the foreheads of Catholics on Ash Wednesday, ending a two-year ban on the Lenten tradition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christians must persevere in generously doing good in the world, bolstered by prayer and by fighting evil in their own lives, including an addiction to digital media, Pope Francis said.
As the threat of war loomed over the world, Pope Francis called on people to pray and fast for peace in Ukraine on Ash Wednesday.
Priests in the Diocese of Brooklyn will resume placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful this Ash Wednesday, March 2 — a tradition that was shelved last year in the wake of concerns about the spread of COVID-19.
The historic winter storms in February shattered electric plants across Texas, prompting energy providers to force blackouts across the state to preserve what fragile electricity they could generate. At least 49 deaths have been linked to the storms and subsequent power outages.
This Ash Wednesday, priests and bishops across the Diocese of Brooklyn imposed ashes in a new way due to the ongoing pandemic. Under Pope Francis’ recommendation, ashes were sprinkled on worshippers’ heads instead of drawing the sign of the cross on the forehead.
Lent is a time to reconsider the path one is taking in life and to finally answer God’s invitation to return to him with one’s whole heart, Pope Francis said.
