Ash Wednesday, February 14, is the beginning of our Lenten journey to Easter joy. Traditionally, Catholics use this time to examine themselves, their strengths and weaknesses, their relationships, and most of all, their relationship with God. Is there a bad habit you've been meaning to address? Is there a new good habit you've been wanting to begin? Now is the time! The act of "giving something up" or adding a particular practice to our routine is all centered on our own interior growth- a denying of "self" and a new openness to God. The pandemic has definitely affected each one of us. We may be weary of "giving things up." Lent does not have to be harsh and solemn. Maybe this Lent, we can all search for joy and hope in our lives based on the Word of God. 

Lenten Regulations:

Abstinence from meat is to be observed by all Catholics 14 years old and older on Ash Wednesday and on all the Fridays of Lent. Fasting is to be observed on Ash Wednesday by all Catholics who are 18 years of age but not yet 59. If medical conditions necessitate, then Catholics are exempt from fasting or abstinence. Those who are bound by this may take only one full meal. Two smaller meals are permitted if necessary to maintain strength according to one‘s needs, but eating solid foods between meals is not permitted. The special Paschal fast, as well as abstinence, are also prescribed for Good Friday and encouraged for Holy Saturday.

Lenten Resources:

Prayer Meditation Guides
The USCCB has provided Eucharistic Prayer Guides using scripture and meditation to enrich your Lenten journey.
You can find them here.

Formed.org
Create your free account at Formed.org.  St. Damian pays a subscription fee for our entire parish.
Go to Formed.org, click on "Sign up as a parishioner."
Enter St. Damian Church or our zipcode - 60452.
Enter your email address. You will receive a link to Formed.
Browse and enjoy!

Formed offers movies, studies, documentaries, audio books, and audio presentations on all facets of the Catholic faith. Brother Francis cartoons are great for the kids, teens and young adults will find engaging material as well. Hot topics are addressed as well-all through the lens of the Catholic Church.

The Chosen
Get to know Jesus through the eyes of those he ministered to in this multi-season series. Beginning with scripture, the producers have woven plausible story lines around what we already know to create an engaging and dynamic presentation of the ministry of Jesus Christ. There are currently 3 complete seasons of The Chosen. Season One can be viewed on Formed.org and Netflix. All seasons can be viewed for free on The Chosen app or at Angel Studios online. 

Sign up to get daily Lenten inspiration from Matthew Kelly at dynamiccatholic.com

The United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Lenten resources are here.

Are you interested in a scripture study? Fr. McIlhone presented our 2019 Parish Mission and was enjoyed by all! His website is  The Word Made Clear.

Loyola Press offers Living Lent Daily, an email program delivering fresh scriptural insights to your inbox. Other great resources can be found on their website.

Aleteia.org is a great Catholic website offering blogs and articles on a variety of topics.

Do you like informative (and sometimes amusing) videos? Try Ascension Presents, a Catholic YouTube site.
Ascension also offers Fr. Mike Schmitz's Bible in a Year and Catechism in a Year programs.

Television watchers, try EWTN - Eternal Word Catholic programming.

Radio listeners, try Relevant Radio 950 am Catholic radio. This Lent Fr. Rocky will give you daily insights to understanding the Mass better. Patrick Madrid offers apologetics from 8-11am, followed by spiritual direction from the Inner Life. Mass is celebrated at noon. The Faith Explained with Cale Clarke at 12:30pm dives into the the richness of Catholicism in simple language. A new addition, Trending with Timmerie features a millenial who embraces her Catholic faith and explains the beauty of God's plan for relationships, marriage and sexuality clearly to her audience.  So many great hosts and show - check it out yourself!

Apps - The Augustine Institute, creators of Formed.org offer a daily prayer meditation app called Amen.

Hallow is a popular app that offers a 90 day free trial after which there is a subscription cost.  Hallow features well known Catholic speakers and actor Johnathan Roumie, the actor who plays Jesus in The Chosen.