The season of Lent opens on Ash Wednesday and continues until the celebration of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. The universally recognised symbol of the opening of Lent is the accepting of ashes as a sign of our willingness to do penance for sin.

Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting (the amount of food) and abstinence (the type of food i.e. abstaining from meat).

Lent is a time of grace which leads to personal and communal renewal. During the discussion of the pastoral priorities of the Archdiocese at the Synod, specifically on the priority of regenerating the moral and spiritual values of society, it was evident that the issue of personal conversion must be addressed by the Catholic community prior to preaching renewal to others. Lent is the time to address conversion and renewal.

I invite the Archdiocese to accept the season of Lent starting from Ash Wednesday as a gift of the Lord and to persevere in the process of conversion and renewal throughout Lent. Only then can Easter be celebrated for what it is: an event of victory, freedom and joy.

Most Reverend Edward J Gilbert CSsR

Archbishop of Port of Spain