Ash Wednesday

On a no-meat Valentine's Day, here's what you should do.

Today is one of those days out of the year when PACE Catholics all over the state attend services to receive ashes – signaling the beginning of the Lenten season. (PACE is the acronym for Palm Sunday, Ash Wednesday, Christmas, and Easter – days in which those who don’t normally attend mass feel as though they have to go...

ROME (AP) -- Pope Francis walked in a solemn Ash Wednesday procession between churches on Rome's ancient Aventine Hill, calling on people to humbly remember their human limits as faithful began their annual penitential Lenten period.

Folks flocking to church won’t be an unusual sight today. Why? Because today marks the beginning of the Lenten season – the 40 days period of fasting and abstinence preceding Easter. Technically it’s not a “holy day of obligation,” but for some reason Catholics in particular and Christians in general feel obligated to go to church and receive ashes – even if they don’t practice their religion on a

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calendar, directly following Shrove Tuesday. Occurring 46 days before Easter, it is a moveable feast that can fall as early as February 4 and as late as March 10.

My mom used to say, "....oh my God, I can't believe Ash Wednesday is here already. Pretty soon Easter. Oh, and by the way, did you get your ashes?" And while there was no obligation to attend Mass on Ash Wednesday, it's still one of the days that "PACE" Catholics feel they MUST attend Mass...