In our Lenten Reels Series, Rev. Albert P. Marcello, III, Chaplain at RI Hospital and Defender of the Bond and Judge in the Diocesan Tribunal explains.
On Ash Wednesday, Feb 14, Catholics begin the forty-day season called Lent which precedes the celebration of Easter, Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Resources here for you as we journey these 40 days.
Most Rev. Richard G. Henning, Bishop of the Diocese of Providence, will preside at the Noon Holy Mass on Ash Wednesday Feb. 14 in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Providence. Bishop Henning will bless and distribute ashes to the faithful to mark the beginning of the Lenten season during the Mass.
In our Lenten Reels Series, "Your Lent Questions, Answered," Father Christopher Murphy, Director of the Seminary of Our Lady of Providence and Pre-Ordination Formation, answers your Lent Question: "Why Ashes?"
This year, Lent begins on February 14 as we observe Ash Wednesday. In a particular way during Lent, we are asked to devote ourselves to the spiritual and corporal works of mercy that "remind us that faith finds expression in concrete everyday actions meant to help our neighbors in body and spirit." Pope Francis reminds us, "God's mercy transforms human hearts; it enables us, through the experience of a faithful love, to become merciful in turn."
Ash Wednesday (February 14), the first day of Lent, will be here before you know it! Click to use this handy printout to start preparing your Lenten practices....
An authentic celebration of Easter, the Resurrection of Christ, is such a world-changing, life-changing event that it should inspire in us a tidal wave of emotion, and the growth of important virtues. Among the most prominent of those virtues are hope, peace and joy.
During the Mondays in Lent, includes 6-6:45 p.m. Confessions and 7 p.m. Holy Mass. Each evening has a different Homilist and topic. Click for homilists, topics and more.
Every so often, the Church’s discipline sparks intrigue, especially in a state as culturally Catholic as Rhode Island. Such was the case last week when The Providence Journal’s food section took up the question of abstinence from meat on St. Patrick’s Day. Unfortunately, the article’s original title — “Corned beef on St. Patrick’s Day? Tobin says no dispensation for RI Catholics” — obfuscates the heart of the matter. To make matters worse, other media outlets picked up the story, implying a farcical battle between the bishop (who is Irish American) and his largely Irish-American flock.
Mission by Bishop Richard G. Henning: Mon., March 20 at 6 p.m. at St. Joseph Parish, 1200 Mendon Rd., Woonsocket; Tues., March 21 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Francis de Sales Parish, 381 School St., North Kingstown; Mon., March 27 at 6:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, 141 State St., Bristol; Tues., April 4 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Patrick Parish(in Spanish), 244 Smith St., Providence.
PROVIDENCE — During a well-attended Mass at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul on Ash Wednesday, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, the principal celebrant, said in his homily that Lent is like a spiritual retreat during which we try to focus more intently on things of the spirit, matters of faith.