Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence.
All Fridays in Lent are days of abstinence.
· Fasting means eating only one full meal with two smaller meals which together do not equal the full meal. No snacks or eating between meals. Fasting obliges all Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59.
· Abstinence means eating no meat nor soup nor gravy made from meat. (Meat is considered to be the flesh and organs of mammals and fowl.) Abstinence obliges all Catholics over the age of 14.
· Sickness, hard labor, pregnancy, etc. automatically excuse a person from these obligations. Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that these are serious obligations. In case of doubt or questions, the priest who hears a person’s confession should be consulted. In addition, all Catholics are strongly encouraged to perform additional acts of penance by prayers, fasting or almsgiving.
While this is the “bare minimum”, all Catholics are strongly encouraged to take up the traditional forms of penance mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 6, the gospel passage for Ash Wednesday.
Just a reminder of some ways to enrich your Lenten season in our parish:
· Spend some time before our Eucharistic Lord on Sundays, Tuesdays or Thursdays throughout Lent – see the signup sheet in the baptistry of the church (southeast entrance).
· Consider attending an extra Mass each week, including a 5:30 p.m. Dail Mass on Tuesday and Thursday during the evenings during Lent.
· We have Stations of the Cross during Lent on the Fridays at 5:30 p.m. and on Thursday mornings at 8:10 a.m. (typically with the grade school). You are welcome to do the Stations on your own too.
· Saint Cecilia’s will be hosting study on (or more like a prayerful read through) Dr. Bob Schucht’s book Be Healed. The study begins on Thursday evening, February 26, at 6:30 p.m. and is open to parishioners from any of the local parish (and suitable for non-Catholics too). See flyers near the entrances of the church. If interested in participating or if you have questions, please contact Saint Cecilia’s parish office (402-463-1336). Books are available at Saint Michael’s Church Book Kiosk.
· Father Hazuka will be hosting a five-part study on “Taking Back Our Sundays” using Saint John Paul II’s letter on the same topic. We will begin this Sunday evening, February 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the parish family room.