The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium, December 4, 1963) is a beautiful document by Vatican Council II. This  document on the liturgy talks about the two-fold character of the Lenten Season. The first character of the Lenten Season is that it recalls our 
baptismal promises and reminds us to remain faithful to the teachings of Jesus.

In other words, the Lenten Season is meant to help us seek the Lord with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all  our strength (Mark 12:30). We all seek God and love God, but we do that halfheartedly, and God is not often the center of our lives.

During the Season of Lent, we are called to review our relationship with God and also with one another. We are asked to make our relationship
with God stronger and healthier.

According to the Council document, the second characteristic of Lent is that it stresses the penitential spirit. That means the Season of Lent is considered a season of penance and prayer. It is a time to repent of our sins. It is a time to do penance for the forgiveness of our sins. It is a time
to discipline ourselves and control our passions. 

Emperor Alexander the Great had a teacher called Diogenes. One day, Alexander said to Diogenes: “Teacher, you should be proud of me  because I am the master of the world.” Then Diogenes said with a smile, “You are also a slave to your passions.” 

Alexander the Great was a great leader, and he was almost like the master of the world. But he was also a slave to his passions. Like  Alexander the Great, most of us are slaves to our passions. Even though we claim to be independent and strong, we are often weak, and we
fall into temptations.

Lent is the time to discipline ourselves and overcome our passions and weaknesses through prayer, fasting, and penance. It is really the  springtime of the spirit. As Prophet Joel says in the first reading, it is a time to return to the Lord with fasting, weeping, and mourning. It is the time to taste the goodness of the Lord; it is the prime time for God in our lives.

Someone once said that the tragedy in our life is that things are broken; the tragedy is that things are not mended after they are broken. Well, Lent is a time for us to mend broken things and our broken relationship with God and one another.

As we begin the Season of Lent by receiving ashes on our foreheads, let us make a commitment to mend our broken relationships, especially  our relationship with God. Let us try to return to the Lord with our whole heart and receive healing and forgiveness from him during this  Season of Lent.

-- Rev. Josh Panthaplamthottiyil, Pastor, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church

Think of Lent as a spiritual adventure. It’s a season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. We symbolically follow the time Jesus spent in the desert before his public ministry. Why the desert? It’s a dry, barren place without distraction where we can see our need for and reliance on God. This period of preparation readies us to celebrate the Lord’s resurrection at Easter. When thinking about Lent, ask yourself, “What type of person do I want to be at Easter?” and “How can I use Lent to be that person?”

The Church gives us three practices to embrace in Lent:
 
Fasting allows us to make room in our hearts for Jesus, creating space to encounter him. Fasting does not have to be staying away from food; it can be anything that distracts us from God.

• Read about it: Matthew 6:17-21
• Watch a video

 
Prayer is essential to a relationship with God. Add more time for prayer; go to daily Mass, read scripture, sit before the Blessed Sacrament, pray the Stations of the Cross on Fridays at 7 pm in the church, or pray the daily examen (click here to learn more) at the end of your day.

• Read about it: Matthew 6:6
• Watch a video

 
Almsgiving is encountering Christ in the poor by being generous with our time, possessions, and love. It isn’t just about giving money.

• Read about it: Matthew 6:3-4
• Watch a video

Masses: 7:00 am, 8:30 am, 12:10 pm*, 5 pm, 7 pm.   All Masses are at SEAS.

Ash Wednesday readings

*livestreamed at http://seaspcfl.org/live

Ash Wednesday begins the forty-day season of Lent that prepares us for Easter. We don’t always follow God’s ways and need to ask him for mercy and forgiveness. We wear ashes to show that we want to turn away from whatever keeps us from God, and to have a change of heart, so that we can live in right relationship with God and each other.

Fasting and abstinence are done to honor the suffering and death of Christ and to prepare ourselves to celebrate his resurrection.

Fasting refers to the amount of food consumed as well as the times food is eaten. Abstinence means the avoidance of certain types of food.

These guidelines are from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

• Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence. 
•  
• Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence for those age 14 and up. Church law specifies abstaining from eating meat, such as poultry, beef, lamb or pork, as an act of penitence. 
• Fasting is obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal. Two smaller meals (that all together are not equal to a full meal) are permitted as necessary to maintain strength according to personal needs, but eating solid foods between meals is not permitted.

In all cases, common sense should prevail, and people who are ill should not further jeopardize their health by fasting. Those that are excused from fast and abstinence (outside the age limits) include the physically or mentally ill, individuals suffering from a chronic illness, and pregnant or nursing women. Those with compromised health that would be adversely affected by fasting or abstinence should not consider themselves bound by these norms. 

Click here for some meatless recipies from Catholic Relief Services!

The Lenten Fish Fry is each Friday during Lent, beginning Friday, February 24th, from 5 to 7 pm in Seton Hall and on the veranda outside Seton Hall.

Fried or baked fish or fried shrimp.  Drink is included.

Cost:  $10 for Adults; $6 for Children

The Stations of the Cross, also known as the Way of the Cross or Via Crucis, commemorate Jesus's passion and death on the cross. There are 14 stations that each depict a moment on his journey to Calvary, usually through sacred art, prayers, and reflections. The practice began as pious pilgrims traced his path through Jerusalem on the Via Dolorosa. 

Later, for the many who wanted to pass along the same route, but could not make the trip to Jerusalem, a practice developed that eventually took the form of the fourteen stations currently found in almost every church throughout the world. 

Join us for Stations of the Cross in the church every Friday during Lent at 7 pm!

Reconciliation: A channel of God’s mercy   

There truly is no greater love than the love God has for us! Lent is the perfect time to acknowledge his love and draw closer to him through the sacrament of Reconciliation. Let us empty ourselves of our sinfulness to leave room for God to fill us with his grace. At the Lenten Reconciliation service, several area priests will be available for individual confessions.

Our Lenten Penance Service will be at 5 pm on Thursday, March 23rd.  More than a dozen priests will be present to hear confessions!

For the sake of those who are unable to come for confession during the Lenten Penance Service, we will have Eucharistic Adoration and the opportunity for confession from 9 am to 9 pm on Monday, April 3rd.

However, you are strongly encouraged to come for confession during the Lenten Penance Service on Thursday, March 23rd at 5 pm, as there will be several priests available to hear your confession!

What is adoration?

Adoration is adoring and honoring the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Blessed Sacrament is held within a holder called a monstrance. During this time with Jesus, you can recite your favorite prayers, read the bible, pray a rosary or other types of prayerful devotions. You can talk to God or sit in total stillness. All are invited for as much time as you wish to spend.

In the  Holy of Holies:
Monday-Thursday, 7 am to 4 pm
Saturday, 7 am to 4 pm

In the Church:
Fridays, 9 am to 9 pm