Lent begins this Wednesday 18 February. Ashes will be blessed and distributed at the three Masses celebrated on Ash Wednesday – 8:30am, and 6:00pm at Our Lady of Peace; and 10:00am at Notre Dame de Lourdes. Our parish school students will join us for the 10:00am Mass.
Mardi Gras is Tuesday 17 February. Below is a prayerful way, from Xavier University, to prepare our hearts, minds, and spirits for the approaching forty days and to celebrate the threshold of the season of Lent.
Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for it is from your goodness that we have this day to celebrate on the threshold of the season of Lent. Tomorrow we will fast and abstain from meat. Today we feast. We thank you for the abundance of gifts you shower upon us. We thank you especially for one another. As we give thanks, we are mindful of those who have so much less than we do. As we share these wonderful gifts together, we commit ourselves to greater generosity toward those who need our support.
Prepare us for tomorrow. Tasting the fullness of what we have today, let us experience some hunger tomorrow. May our fasting make us more alert, and may it heighten our consciousness so that we might be ready to hear your Word and respond to your call. As our feasting fills us with gratitude so may our fasting and abstinence hollow out in us a place for deeper desires and an attentiveness to hear the cry of the poor. May our self-denial turn our hearts to you and give us new freedom for generous service to others. We ask of you these graces with our hearts full of delight and stirring with readiness for the journey ahead. We ask them with confidence in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.
Ash Wednesday, as well as Good Friday, are days of fast and abstinence. Fasting is to limit yourself to one complete meal accompanied by two smaller meals that do not constitute a complete meal. A smaller meal means that you would do without something that you would normally include as a part of a complete meal, or you would reduce the portion size. Perhaps you would eat half of a sandwich instead of a whole, or a bowl of soup without a sandwich, or a sandwich without chips or fries. Fasting is expected for anyone who has reached the age of eighteen and has not yet reached the age of sixty. So that would be anyone born from April 1966 through 18 February 2008.
Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence. Abstinence is to refrain from eating meat. Meat includes red meats such as hamburgers, poultry products such as turkey, or chicken, pork products such as ham or bacon. You are required to abstain from meat once you have reached the age of fourteen – born at least by February 2012. Abstinence, unlike fasting, remains in effect for the remainder of your life.
Lenten Devotions:
Morning Prayer: at Our Lady of Peace: Monday through Thursday at 8:10am and
at Notre Dame: Friday and Saturday at 8:10am
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament:
Tuesdays at Our Lady of Peace 9am through 6:30pm / Benediction is celebrated at 6:30pm
Stations of the Cross: Fridays at Our Lady of Peace at 7pm
Additional Confessions: Sundays – at Our Lady of Peace (February 22, March 1, March 8 & March 22) 12:30-1:15pm and at Notre Dame (March 15) 10:30-11:30am
Almsgiving: The missionaries have planned two outreach days during Lent (2/21 & 3/7). The following items can be placed in ziplock bags for distribution: toiletries, toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, hand sanitizers, first aid items. Additionally, bottled water and non-perishable food items are welcome. Thank you for your generosity and support.
Mass Readings – 6th Ordinary Sunday – Cycle A / 15 February 2026
Sirach 15:15-20 – Do you choose to keep the Commandments? / Do you trust in God? Why or why not? / For what purposes has God given you a license? How frequently do you renew it?
Responsorial Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34 – R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! – What are the precepts of the Church? How diligently are you following them? / With what teachings of the Church do you wonder? Discern?
1st Corinthians 2:6-10 – Do you love God? What are the mysterious and hidden things he has prepared for you? / Why does the Holy Spirit scrutinize the depths of God?
Matthew 5:17-37 – How does Jesus fulfill the law and the prophets? / What smallest letter have you taken away from the law, or added to it? / What are the gifts you are bringing to the altar? / Why is the Sign of Peace placed between the Lord’s Prayer and Communion? / Are you a decisive person or do you vacillate? Do you take no for an answer?