Last updated on 2 February 2024
Masses for Ash Wednesday, 14 Feb 2024:
- 9.30am
- 12pm (with St John’s School)
- 7.00pm
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence.
The law of fasting binds those who have completed their 18th year, until the beginning of their sixtieth year; the law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year (CCL 97, 1251f).
Lent is a penitential season of prayer, self-denial and helping others. In this way, the whole Church prepares for Easter with those who are to be baptised. All celebrations in Lent must take account of the spirit of penance: musical instruments are only used to sustain singing, and floral decorations are very simple.
Catholics are obliged to confess serious sins annually, and receive Holy Communion at least once a year between Ash Wednesday and Trinity Sunday.
