Ash Wednesday February 17th STRICT FAST Palm Sunday March 28th	Holy Thursday April 1st Good Friday April 2nd STRICT FAST	Easter Vigil April 3rd EASTER SUNDAY April 4th
	Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving Lent is forty days of preparation for Easter.  It begins on Ash Wednesday.  We skip Sundays when we count the forty days, because Sundays commemorate the Resurrection.  In the Roman Catholic Church, Lent officially ends at sundown on Holy Thursday with the beginning of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.
	Ashes Traditionally, the ashes used for Ash Wednesday come from burning the palm fronds from the previous year’s Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter.  They are then blessed by a priest. Ashes are a biblical symbol of mourning and penance used since the time of Moses.  They also symbolize death and so remind us of our mortality. When the priest uses his thumb to sign us with the ashes, he says, "Remember, you are dust and to dust you shall return." It is also a reminder of the joy of eternal life: "Repent, and believe the good news!"  Ashes remind us of the day of judgment when we stand before God.  To prepare well for that day, we must die now to sin so that we can rise to new life in Christ.  Being marked with ashes at the beginning of Lent indicates our need for deeper conversion of our lives during this season of renewal.
	Fast and Abstinence Lenten Regulations All Catholics 14 years of age or older are asked to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent. Catholics between the ages of 14 and 59 are also to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday unless one's work or health would make it inadvisable.  One full meatless meal is allowed on the days of fast.  Two other meatless meals, sufficient to maintain strength, are allowed.  Drinking of ordinary liquids does not break the fast.
	We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You, because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.