On the day I called, you answered me;

With your right hand you save me;

you increased the strength of my soul.

O Lord, your merciful love is eternal;

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-256

Seized with anguish

 The Season of Lent,  you take away from the midst of you the yoke,

the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.

St. John of God, religious

Labor without stopping, do all the good works you can, while you still have the time.

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊    

Isaiah 58:9b-14

If you remove

Jesus is calling us to repent and believe,

David, he confesses to the Lord: “Against you—you alone—

I have sinned and done this evil in your sight”

David is grieving his sin before his Maker.

Like David, we all have sinned.

Repentance is something God gives—

it is only possible because of His grace.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Jonah 3:1-10

The word of the Lord

“A sincere effort to remove from our hearts all evil."

As the "paschal fast" to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus.

Day of abstinence from meat (age 14 and up).

St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, martyrs

Neither can I call myself anything else than what I am, a Christian.　----- St. Perpetua

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Isaiah 58:1-9a

Cry out aloud for all

 In the Lord's Prayer,

'Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets.

But in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Isaiah 55:10-11

As the rain and the snow

  "Christ's self-sacrificing love."

He counted not His life dear unto Himself, but endured the cross, despising the shame.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

See, I set before you

At the end of our earthly life, God will judge how much we have loved.

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law”.

Here is how we become God: by keeping His law of love!

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊    

Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18

The Lord spoke to

“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

The ashes are applied in the shape of a cross on the forehead of each worshipper on Ash Wednesday.

Ash Wednesday is a solemn reminder of human mortality and the need

for reconciliation with God and marks the beginning of the penitential Lenten season.

 Start of Lent, a Day of Universal Fast. Day of fast (ages 18-59) and abstinence from meat (age 14 and up).

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Joel 2:12-18

The Lord says,

Temptation forces us to rise up and make a choice either for God or for the temptation.

The blessings that await those who overcome temptation are numerous.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Deuteronomy 26:4-10

Then the priest

Giving freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD.

and god is able to make all grace abound to you,

so that in all things at all times, having all that you need,

you will abound in every good work, and eternal life.

St. Casimir

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Sirach 35:1-12

Keeping the law