Masses and liturgies for the distributions of the ashes took place all day on campus Feb. 22 in celebration of Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Lenten liturgical season.
University chaplain Father Hugh Vincent Dyer, O.P., said in his homily at the 12:05 Mass in St. Vincent鈥檚 Chapel, that Ash Wednesday is about going beyond simply getting an ash on the forehead.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a temptation to want to get your identity out there, and say, 鈥業鈥檓 a Catholic, see my ash tattoo?鈥 But are we really showing love? Are we really being encouraged?鈥
Father Hugh Vincent emphasized the importance of almsgiving, a Lenten pillar along with prayer and fasting.
鈥淭he Lord has a kind of preferential option for the poor,鈥 said Father Hugh Vincent, referring to the Gospels where Jesus cures and ministers to the poor. 鈥淭he Church provides us with a season of denial of the self. We should live a life unposted on social media. Things untold, these should be deeds that follow you into heaven. No one knows about them, except the person to whom you showed kindness, and God himself.鈥
To help the campus community live out the spirit of Lent, will provide extended confession opportunities, weekly stations of the cross, and . for more information on key opportunities to live out Lent 2023 on campus.
