CATHOLICS CELEBRATE ASH WEDNESDAY MASSES THROUGHOUT THE ARCHDIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES MARKING THE START OF LENT
February 27, 2020  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

–Archdioceses offers digital resources to ‘help faithful in their Lenten journey’–

Joining faithful around the world, Catholics in the tri-county Archdiocese of Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties) today celebrated Ash Wednesday Masses marking the beginning of Lent, a time of contemplation and renewal, which leads to Holy Week.

“Lent is a time of purification, spiritual growth, and deepening our conversion in Christ,” said Archbishop José H. Gomez in his weekly column in Angelus News. “The life of virtue, which means ‘excellence,’ is also about self-examination and discipline, about mastering our appetites and cultivating good habits that order our lives in the image of Jesus.”

At a packed noon Ash Wednesday Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles, Father David Gallardo, pastor, reminded the thousands of faithful to remember to hear Gods voice in our daily lives.

“Being Ash Wednesday, we hear God’s voice with clarity, a voice that tell us that we are loved by God,” said Father Gallardo. “As you begin this Lenten season, we want to begin anew in our relationship with Him and we must also remember that if we’re serious about beginning our relationship anew in Him then we must begin our relationships anew with our brothers and sisters.”

For Catholics, Lent is a time of prayer, penance, reflection and giving. The Archdiocese has created a new webpage on the Archdiocesan website, lacatholics.org/lent, to provide faithful with daily Lenten reflections, prayers, video messages from Archbishop Gomez, and resources for almsgiving and service. 

“Lent is a time to remove distractions and create space for God,” explained Sarah Yaklic, chief digital officer for the Archdiocese. “It is our hope that these digital resources will help faithful in their Lenten journey through prayer, reflection and opportunities to give back to our community.”

Faithful can visit  lacatholics.org/lent or text ‘Remember’ to 84576 to receive the daily reflections.

For video and photos of today’s Ash Wednesday Mass at the Cathedral please visit: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16GCKme_363_7tEkBP5MLPz4np91HYfx4?usp=sharing. 

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The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is the largest Archdiocese in the United States with approximately five million Catholics. For the latest news, events and to subscribe for media alerts visit media.la-archdiocese.org. Follow us on social media using @LACatholics on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Video archives and footage of Masses celebrated by Archbishop José H. Gomez are also available.