Holy Trinity & Holy Family Catholic Church

02/20/2026

02/18/2026

Despite the masks we wear and the cleverly crafted ploys meant to distract us, the ashes remind us of who we are. This is good for us. It reshapes us, reduces the severity of our narcissism, brings us back to reality and makes us more humble and open to one another: none of us is God; we are all on a journey.

Lent, however, is also an invitation to rekindle our hope. Although we receive the ashes with our heads bowed in remembrance of who we are, the Lenten season does not end there. On the contrary, we are invited to lift our eyes to the One who rises from the depths of death and brings us from the ashes of sin and death to the glory of eternal life.

The ashes remind us of the hope to which we are called in Jesus, the Son of God, who has taken upon himself the dust of the earth and raised it to the heights of heaven. He descended into the abyss of dust, dying for us and reconciling us to the Father, as we heard from Saint Paul: “For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21).

This, brothers and sisters, is the hope that restores to life the “ashes” of our lives. Without such hope, we are doomed passively to endure the fragility of our human condition.

Pope Francis, Wednesday, March 5, 2025
https://ow.ly/4P6H50YhmSw

02/18/2026

02/17/2026

02/17/2026

02/17/2026

𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐔𝐔𝐌

Lent is a 40-day season of preparation leading up to Easter Sunday and is one of the principal liturgical seasons of the Catholic Church. It is a time of penance focused on prayer, abstinence, fasting, and almsgiving, recalling Jesus’ 40 days of fasting in the desert. Lent formally begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Thursday before the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper. The Paschal Triduum then begins with the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday and concludes on Easter Sunday with Evening Prayer.

For this year's Lenten Season, it is scheduled as follows:

February 18, 2026 - Ash Wednesday
March 29, 2026 - Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion
April 2, 2026 - Holy Thursday of the Lord's Supper
April 3, 2026 - Good Friday of the Lord's Passion
April 4, 2026 - Holy Saturday
April 5, 2026 - Easter Sunday of the Lord's Resurrection

02/17/2026

𝗔𝗦𝗛 𝗪𝗘𝗗𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

This Wednesday, February 18, is Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting and abstinence. It marks the beginning of the Lenten Season.

✝️ LENTEN SEASON
A Time of Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving
📖 Catechism of the Catholic Church

“The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year are intense moments of the Church’s penitential practice.”
— Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC 1438

🌿 What is Lent?

Lent is a 40-day penitential season in the Catholic Church that begins on Ash Wednesday and prepares the faithful for the celebration of Easter. It is a time of conversion, self-discipline, repentance, and spiritual renewal.

🟣 Ash Wednesday

Beginning of Lent

Marks the start of the Lenten season

Catholics receive ashes on the forehead as a sign of humility and repentance

Ashes remind us of our mortality and our need for God’s mercy

“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
(cf. Genesis 3:19)

Church Practices

Fasting and abstinence

Call to repentance and turning away from sin

✝️ The Three Pillars of Lent
🙏 Prayer

Daily prayer and reflection

Attending Mass and Stations of the Cross

Reading Sacred Scripture

🍞 Fasting

Self-denial and discipline

Observing fasting and abstinence

Detaching from sinful habits

❤️ Almsgiving

Helping the poor and needy

Acts of charity and kindness

Sharing blessings with others

🔔 Holy Week

The Most Sacred Week of the Church Year

Holy Week commemorates the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Palm Sunday – Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem

Holy Thursday – Institution of the Eucharist and Priesthood

Good Friday – Passion and Death of Jesus on the Cross

Holy Saturday – Day of silence and waiting

Easter Sunday – Resurrection of the Lord

🌅 Purpose of Lent

Repent from sins

Renew faith and commitment

Prepare the heart for Christ’s Resurrection

“Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”
(Mark 1:15)

02/17/2026

"There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers."
St. Catherine of Siena

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