Lent began this week with the school Mass for Ash Wednesday at St. John’s Church. While technically not a holy day, it always draws big crowds, and the school children were in the front rows and were the first to receive the imposition of ashes. The ashes represent repentance from sin by believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (“Repent from your sins and believe in the Gospel”) and the acknowledgment of one’s own mortality and hope for Heaven (“Remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return”).

     While the theological subtleties of the Mass may have been lost on the youngest of the students, they made an impressive little army of Christian soldiers as they left the church beaming with their ash-covered foreheads as they marched back down Maple Street to the school. Such young witnesses to the power of the Gospel can melt even the hardest hearts. Lent has begun and it is a holy season filled with many graces to live a holier life for Jesus. The children are leading the way.

Written By: Fr. Lance W. Harlow

Date Published: February 15, 2024