LENT IS A time when we ought to return to the Lord, and return the people did as hundreds (over three hundred, if my estimate was correct) flocked to the Catholic Church in New Amsterdam to start the penitential season of Lent the traditional way by attending Ash Wednesday Mass.
While there were the regular parishioners present, a large influx of visitors filled the church almost to capacity. It is hoped that this trend would continue throughout the entire season. Monsignor Terrence Montrose presided over the Mass, assisted by Lay Ministers.
In his message to begin Lent this year, Fr Montrose said that Lent, each year, should be an experience of God in our lives. Lent is mainly about this he said: the paschal mystery—the death and resurrection of Jesus. “It is the time for intense preparation for those preparing for Baptism,” he said.
There are no baptisms at Ascension this Easter, but thousands are expected to join the worldwide Church and become full-fledged Catholics. Many from other faiths and religions are expected, too, like any other year, to be initiated into the 1.1 billion-strong Catholic faith by the Holy Father himself in Rome on Holy Saturday. But the journey is far from over. Easter is far in the horizon. We have just entered the season of Lent.
Fr Montrose, in his message, went on to say: “We come before the Lord to ask for forgiveness. We fast, we give alms, we do penance, we contribute to SVP, feeding programmes, all kinds of organizations that look after the sick and the poor. The money you save by not eating and drinking certain foods, as part of your sacrifice, can be given to the poor. Lent is a time to make that extra effort.”
He urged many to give of their time; to attend Mass more regular. “We must look deeply, seriously and honestly at our relationship with God. If it is based on presence—many of us may be pretending. Our holiness and piety do not come from ourselves but from God.”
During the service, the faithful had their foreheads imposed with ash to remind them of their mortality and sinful nature. During Lent, other spiritual exercises people are encouraged to partake in include fasting, prayer, abstinence, meditations, attending Mass, attending Stations of the Cross, giving alms, making regular confessions, receiving communion on a daily basis, mending differences with persons whom we have been wrong to or vice versa, among many other ways.  Ash Wednesday is one of the Church’s oldest observances dating back to the 8th  Century.
As usual, my website contains a montage of photos from last Wednesday’s proceedings. www.leonjsuseran.webs.com