Friends of the Rosary:
Today is the feast day of St. Valentine and most importantly, Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the penitential season of Lent — forty days of prayer, abstinence, and fasting in imitation of Our Lord in the desert.
During today's Mass, the ashes are blessed and then priests or deacons impart this sacramental on the faithful as a sign of conversion, penance, fragility, and mortality.
The ash on our forehead means that we are witness to our faith. It also reminds us that our time on earth is short.
The ashes are made from the palms used at the previous Passion Sunday ceremonies.
During Lent, we observe the central act of history, the redemption of the human race by Our Savior Jesus Christ.
All the baptized are called to do some penance:
• Abstinence from eating meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during Lent.
• Fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. It means that a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal.
Ave Maria!Jesus, I Trust In You!
To Jesus through Mary!Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!
+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

• ⁠February 14, 2024, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET