Ash Wednesday
This year Ash Wednesday will fall on February 14. On this day the church calls its members throughout the world to begin their observance of a holy Lent—a season of 40 days that leads to the celebration of our Lord's Passion and Resurrection on Easter.
Saint Philip’s will have services at 12:00pm and 6:00pm.
Mosaic will be suspended on Wednesday, February 14.
Some background on Ash Wednesday and Lent:
The distinct element of Ash Wednesday is the solemn imposition of ashes with the disquieting words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The ashes are made from the embers of last year’s Palm Sunday palm fronds (which we waved in celebration of Christ our King and his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, but that quickly became for us the very sign of our fickle hearts that crucified our Lord).
Lent has its origins in the ancient church and the preparation of candidates for Holy Baptism. This was when Easter was the only day of the year when the Church regularly baptized new Christians. The 40 days before Easter held special significance for converts, known as “catechumens” (Greek, meaning "being instructed"), because they represented the final days before their initiation into Christ’s Body, the Church.
Very early on the church also recognized that such a period of preparation for the celebration of Easter was of value for all Christians. Lent became an extended period of penance for those who had been disciplined because of grievous sins and banned for a time from the sacramental life of the church. At Easter they were reconciled and welcomed back into the fold.
For us, as for all Christians, the spiritual disciplines of self-denial and penitence that we associate with Lent help us sanctify our heart for God’s purposes. We are put in mind of our obligation to care for the poor and those in any need or trouble. Christ calls us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. And since we love imperfectly, we bid Christ to restore us and make us vessels of his love.