Join St. Anne's for Ash Wednesday Services

Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, is this Wednesday, February 18. From at least the 8th century, Christians have presented themselves on this day to have blessed ashes marked in the sign of the cross on their foreheads. The custom began as an act of public penance in the earliest days of the Church and soon evolved into a yearly devotional practice as a way of ceremonially and symbolically marking the start of the holy and pentitential season of Lent.

The ashes are the result of the Church’s burning of old palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. There is great symbolism here: green, fully alive palm branches, taken from the church with great joy and festivity are returning again as grave, black, lifeless ashes. It is a great metaphor of our lives. Each of us, no matter our income or social status, occupation, or place in society; each of us, no matter the horsepower of our car, square footage of our home, or whether we have a Nokia flip-phone or the iPhone 6, will one day taste death but not without the promise of new life won for us by Christ who is our Savior, Lord, and friend.

The famous words of Ash Wednesday serve to re-orient us toward our own end and our own true home of Heaven: “Remember, man, that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.”

All are welcome to mark this day with us at St. Anne Catholic Church in Oswego on Wednesday, February 18, 2015. The distribution of ashes will follow the proclamation of the Gospel during the celebration of the Eucharist.

Mass Times are: 7:00am, 12:00pm, 4:30pm and 6:00pm (with Religious Education students), and 7:30pm.

You are called, you are wanted, you are welcome here with us.