Along with Valentine's Day, next Wednesday is also Ash Wednesday, the start of our annual Lenten journey when we strive to be better Catholics and Christians. Since the season of Lent is the most somber time of the Church year, we will celebrate Valentine's Day on Tuesday. This is in keeping with another Catholic tradition of Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras which is the tradition of celebrating one last day of indulgence before the serious work of Lent begins. When we attend Mass on Wednesday morning and receive the ashes on our foreheads, the admonition of "Repent and believe in the Gospel" reminds us that this is the time to examine our lives and look for ways to deepen our relationship with God.  

 

Our teachers do a beautiful job of helping St. Rose students understand the value and beauty of this season in age-appropriate ways. We hope you will support your children's learning by asking them about what they are working on in religion classes. Attending Mass on the Sundays of Lent and observing other Catholic obligations and traditions can be life-giving to your entire family. I have included a link to learn more about these practices and how you can observe them as a family.  I particularly enjoy the short videos produced by Busted Halo.   

 

http://www.catholicfamilyfaith.org/lent.html

 

I am looking forward to a joyous pre-Lenten celebration with you on Saturday at our Crab Feed. This is our opportunity to celebrate all we have accomplished as a community while raising money to support our children's education and complete the funding for the new HVAC system planned for the summer.  In addition, the first responders who are directly responsible for saving our school will be in attendance, courtesy of some parent donors. 

Sincerely,