In the Roman Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent, the season of preparation for the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. Ash Wednesday falls 46 days before Easter. Since Easter falls on a different date each year, Ash Wednesday does, too. This year Ash Wednesday is celebrated on March 2, and the Macau faithful in different parishes and community languages gathered to receive the ashes. While Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation, all Roman Catholics are encouraged to attend Mass on this day and to receive ashes on their foreheads in order to mark the beginning of the Lenten season.
The English-speaking community of the Cathedral, composed mainly of Filipinos, celebrated this first day in preparation for Easter, at Sao Domingos Church. It was a joyful but somber occasion for the English community to celebrate Ash Wednesday. We may recall that the communities of the Cathedral used Sao Domingos during the Cathedral renovation period.
During Mass, the ashes which give Ash Wednesday its name are distributed. The ashes are made by burning the blessed palms that were distributed the previous year on Palm Sunday. As the ashes were imposed, faithful were reminded to “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” The chaplain for the English community at the cathedral, Fr Leonard E Dollentas said during the Mass that the distribution of ashes is not just a ritual, it reminds us of our own mortality and calls us to repentance. He recounted that: “In the early Church, Ash Wednesday was the day on which those who had sinned, and who wished to be readmitted to the Church, would begin their public penance.” He emphasized further that: “The ashes that we receive are a reminder of our own sinfulness, and many Catholics leave them on their foreheads all day as a sign of humility.”
Fr Leonard explained as well to the community how to achieve a meaningful Journey with God this Lent: “As Lent begins, we should set specific spiritual goals we would like to reach before Easter and decide how we will pursue them—for instance, by going to daily Mass when we can and receiving the Sacrament of Confession more often, or by praying for the grace of forgiving someone.”
A parishioner joining the celebration shared her reflection on the occasion: “During this time we need more prayers, we pray in solidarity with Ukraine, we pray for Russia to relent and withdraw the invasion. During this time that we are still within the pandemic period, we should be more kind to others, whether it’s complimenting someone or helping someone out. Our concern now is to challenge ourselves to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of our Lord.”
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