Lent begins - Ash Wednesday

[Universalfamily]

Blessed Ash Wednesday to all.
After following the previous thread which turned into yet another anti-Catholic bunfight I would like to set the parameters for this thread.

A) All who are genuinely practicing Catholics or are other Christians who observe Lent and are accepting of Catholicism welcome.

B) If you have problems with Catholicism and want to critique, question or lambast Catholicism and Catholics for whatever reason please start a thread and Catholics will respond and discuss with you as long as you are civil.

C) Anything genuinely open, interested and respectful of Catholicism who would like to participate in discussions during Lent are also welcome.

D) Catholics are a small minority in the UK and due to the history of the English Reformation there is a great deal of residual distrust and antipathy toward Catholicism and Catholics. This is a safe space for community, fellowship and support for fellow Catholics and friends. This is not the place to rehash anger about issues that have been discussed frequently in this forum. Again, if you want to criticise Catholicism you are free to do so - but not on this thread.

Thank you.

Thank you for setting this thread up. Wishing you a blessed Lent ✝️

Thank you for starting this thread.

I'm Hispanic and Catholicism is a great part of my culture. I've not exactly lapsed, as I have never stopped calling myself a Catholic but I haven't been practicing i.e., going to Mass for a very long time. However, I've returned to the Church within the past four months. It has been wonderful to be there. I hadn't realized how much I've missed it.

I'm off to Church right now (I'm in Texas) to go to Ash Wednesday services. I wanted to go to a Spanish-language Mass because they always have mariachis.

I wish you a very Blessed Lenten season!

I would like to strengthen my faith this Lent.

I was raised a catholic, went to catholic schools, attend mass etc but I don’t feel like I live my faith. How can I do that?
Yesterday I started with Ash Wednesday Fast.
I am reading the bible a bit and listening to an audiobook - Bible for Dummies ( not a great title lol) but it explains in easy terms each of the holy books.

How do you do Lent? Would be interesting to hear x

Welcome home ❤️

Anglo-Catholic here, so can shake hands across a very narrow point on the Tiber! Went to my first Ash Wednesday Mass yesterday after years away and found it very meaningful and grounding

@Chocolateismylovelife the main message of Catholicism is love. Our priest described it as cats eyes on the road. When we are living our lives with love and showing that compassion and kindness to others, it's like light shining on the cats eyes- we light up and radiate the heart of our faith. I'm probably not explaining it very clearly but the point is- if you're being the best version of you that you can be, if you're showing genuine kindness and empathy, and if you're forgiving others as you would like to be forgiven yourself, then you are doing ok. I recommend seeing if your church run the RCIA course. It's not just for new Catholics, it's beneficial to anyone wishing to learn about and deepen their faith. Father Mike Schmitz on YouTube is also wonderful for helping make sense of a lot of things too.

I hope this doesn't sound cheeky but can I ask what is Anglo-Catholic? I don't think I've heard the term before.

Fairly middle of the road Anglican here (hello!). I went to our Eucharist with imposition of ashes last night - it was lovely.

Anglican here too. Also went to lovely Ash Wednesday service yesterday.
Happy Lent everyone, whatever your faith.

It’s at the High Church end of C of E.
Catholicism without the pope.
Emphases the Catholic rather than the Protestant heritage of the Anglican communion.

(Anglo-Catholic always reminds me of Barbara Pym’s novels. Sorry for a slight derail.)

@hanka thank you for explaining, I'm in Scotland so we would know that as Episcopalian here. From what I know it's very much Catholic overall but doesn't acknowledge apostolic succession- hence putting the UK King in place of the Pope (our representative of St Peter on Earth). They are very similar in every other way like you say. Lenten blessings to you.

I’m actually Catholic myself but living in the UK (moved here some 20 years ago) I find this religious division fascinating.
We’ve got a priest who came over from C of E and I’m always itching to ask him questions but can never summon the nerve.
I also wasn’t aware of the term until I started to read Miss Pym’s novels a couple of years ago. That’s when I looked into it in detail.

@hanka I only know because I was brought up Episcopalian then converted to Roman Catholic as an adult. Having the monarch in place of the Pope seems to be the only concrete difference I could see. It was a way to give that power to the King at the time and has sort of stuck. It's why I converted as that was always the sticking point for me. Hadn't considered it's got a different name down south but I can see that makes sense. And yes I'd want to ask lots of questions too! I think they'd be open to questions as you'd be asking respectfully and not in a mean way.

Thank you for starting this thread. I'm Catholic but lapsed for many years. In the past year or so I've been attending mass on and off in our local High Church C of E church.
I went to the Catholic Cathedral on Ash Wednesday. It cemented for me that the ritual, choir and the beautiful building in my nearby CofE church help me more to connect with the divine. So I guess I'm very ecumenical.
So a Catholic by birth and upbringing but find more solace in my local CofE church. They start the Stations of the Cross next Friday and I'm intrigued to see if it differs much.

Catholic in Canada.
I’ve downloaded the Hallow app and am following a 40 day Lenten learning session.
So far so good.

I’ve got the Walk with Me booklet and this time I will try to do it every day till the end.

I use the Hallow app as well. I also like the Laudate app if you're able to get that too.

Half way through Lent, how's it going? I'm feeling a little wistful about alcohol - some cold wet evenings make the thought of a glass of wine in front of the fire very tempting - and chocolate, but so far so good. One thing I've really enjoyed is being part of a small group reading and discussing the upcoming Sunday scriptures each week. I have also managed to get to the once-a-week weekday mass in our village church so far - didn't make a resolution to do it every week, but am doing my best.

This week I'm pondering Nicodemus and his need to approach Jesus secretly, after dark - not an unfamiliar feeling, alas. But Nicodemus is a goodun in spite of all.

I'm not doing so well. Have successfully stuck to my lenten promise to give up all sugary treats. Went to Weekday mass and stations week one then last week was ill and this week work and other children activity commitments have got in the way of that.

Also taken up going to bed at 10.30 to pray and get an early night which is slipping til 11 but an improvement on previous post midnight bedtime. Reminder here to pray more at night as well. I can do that.

Not reading my lent book either and slightly behind on my catechism is a year that I have started again in January.

Not made it to confession yet.

How's that for a heap of Catholic guilt?!

Busy life, busy lent so hard to take time out to draw closer to God.

I got into the habit of saying prayers in bed last thing at night and first thing in the morning during those first scary weeks of lockdown (four years ago, not sure is that incredibly long or incredibly short) and have kept doing it - it only takes three or four minutes, but it lets me unpick my day and put things back into perspective - and definitely helps me get to sleep. And face the next day.

btw, St Benedict said laborare est orare so it seems safe to say that your work, including childcare activity, IS prayer, and you don't need to feel guilty. All we have to do it love God and each other.

Which sounds easier than it is.