Daily Reflection Calendar
Deepen your faith this Lent and follow along with this daily reflection calendar from USCCB.
If it has been a while since you've attended Mass, be assured that this Holy Week season, we want to invite you back to your spiritual home - no questions asked. We know it's sometimes hard to come back after being away for so long; most of us have been in your shoes. We are excited to see you and welcome you home with open hearts.
Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion
April 17 Holy Thursday (Office Closed)
April 18 Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion (Office Closed)
Holy Saturday Easter Vigil
Blessing of Easter Food: 12:00 PM in the Narthex
Easter Sunday
Abstinence from meat (beast or fowl) is to be observed by all Catholics fourteen years old and older on Ash Wednesday and on all the Fridays of Lent. This obligation prohibits the eating of meat, but not eggs, milk products, or condiments of any kind, even though made from animal fat. We would love for you to join us at our Friday Fish dinners hosted by our SJN Knights of Columbus.
Fasting means limiting oneself to one full meal on a given fast day. Catholics who are eighteen years of age but not yet fifty-nine are obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. On fast days, two additional smaller meals are permitted if necessary to maintain strength. However, the two smaller meals together may not equal one full meal. Moreover, eating solid foods between meals on fast days is not permitted.
Lent lasts for 40 days because Christ suffered in the desert for 40 days.
How is the date of Ash Wednesday determined?Ash Wednesday always falls six and a half weeks before Easter.
How is the date of Easter determined?Easter is a moveable feast as opposed to a fixed date each year. Easter being celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon of spring (March 21 or later) dates back to the Council of Nicea in 325.
How long is Lent?Lent lasts 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday, excluding Sundays. Sundays are an important part of Lent, but we do not include them in the “40 days” because on every Sunday we remember and celebrate the Resurrection of Christ in the Mass.
Technically, the Church does not obligate us to fast on Sundays. However, the Sundays during Lent are still part of the Lenten season. Choosing to continue your Lenten sacrifice on Sunday is a personal choice.
Palm Sunday, the last Sunday during Lent. It signifies Jesus’s triumphant return to Jerusalem after spending 40 days and nights in the desert. At Mass, we celebrate his return and our desire to follow him.
Good Friday takes place between Palm Sunday and Easter, as part of the Easter Triduum. It will occur one day after Holy Thursday (or Maundy Thursday in some traditions.)