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 The Vatican's First Easter Stamp Scott 467 (1969) Today, Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of the season of Lent on the Christian calendar. Today we are marked with ashes to symbolize our mortality and to be reminded of our human fate: from dust we are and to dust we shall return. The ashes distributed today come from the old, burned palm branches distributed on Palm Sunday of the previous year. Lent is the most solemn period on the liturgical calendar, commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, prior to the start of his public ministry. Lent is observed in most Christian churches, although traditions vary between Christian denominations. Oftentimes we talk about the 40 days of Lent. But, within the Catholic Church, Lent actually encompasses a total of 43 days, spanning the calendar from Ash Wednesday through Holy Thursday (which is also referred to as Maundy Thursday). This is the day when the Last Supper of Christ and his disciples is commemorated. Other denominations have Lent ending at sundown on Holy Saturday with the celebration of the Easter Vigil. In the Eastern Church, Lent begins on Clean Monday, which is the sixth Monday before Palm Sunday and falls after Ash Wednesday. Lent is the time for believers in Jesus Christ to prepare for His coming resurrection at Easter through prayer, repentance, almsgiving, and self-denial. During Lent, many Christians commit to fasting, as well as giving up certain luxuries as a means of imitating Jesus Christ's sacrifice during his time in the desert.  Church of Santa Maria Regina Pacis, Ostia Photo by Chabe01 From Wikimedia Commons, used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license With the onset of Lent, Pope Leo XIV will be reinstituting the practice of going to local Roman parishes to meet with parishioners and to celebrate Mass. He began a tour of five Roman parishes this past Sunday as he traveled to the seaside community of Ostia Lido and the Church of Santa Maria Regina Pacis. He met with a group of children in the church courtyard, and then greeted about 400 church members assembled in the parish gymnasium, prior to celebrating Mass. Ostia has another special link for the pope--its ties to Saint Augustine and his mother, Saint Monica. It was in Ostia that Augustine received his famous spiritual vision, and it was where Saint Monica lived and died after coming to the Italian peninsula in the fourth century. Over the next four Sundays in Lent, Pope Leo will visit the following parish Churches (and their neighborhoods) around the city of Rome: The pope does not currently have a Mass listed on his calendar for March 22, but on March 29 he will celebrate Mass for Palm Sunday and the Passion of the Lord, commemorating of the Lord’s Entrance into Jerusalem. As the season of Lent begins, the tradition of pilgrimages to the Lenten Station Churches resumes. The pilgrimages to the Lenten Station Churches date back around 1600 years when, according to Roman tradition, pilgrims and clergy travel to a different church each day of Lent for Mass, honoring local martyrs and meditating on the journey to Easter. The practice was standardized by Saint Pope Gregory the Great around the year 600 AD. The pilgrimage mirrors the ancient Roman "statio" (a soldier's post) by "standing with" the Church in prayer, often beginning at a designated "collecta" (gathering place) before processing to the station church. Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to preside over the traditional Ash Wednesday liturgy later today by meeting at the Church of Saint Anselm and processing to the Basilica of Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill, the first stop on the annual Lenten Station Church voyage. Given his increased activity and visibility since beginning his pontificate, it will be interesting to see if the pope visits any of the other Lenten Station Churches over the next six weeks. As we embark on our Lenten journey, the VPS Website Team has compiled a collection of presentations to follow the daily pilgrimages to the Lenten Station Churches of Rome. Please be sure to click on the Daily Page tab to access updated reviews of each day’s Station Church. We hope this voyage enhances your preparation for the great feast of Easter. REFERENCES: |
