Dear Parishioners, For the past couple of weeks, I have had the feeling that I must have missed Ash Wednesday and I’m behind on getting things ready for Lent. Normally we have Ash Wednesday in February. In fact, with your pastor having an early February birthday, there are occasional years that my birthday actually falls on Ash Wednesday (and believe me, it’s not very fun to have a fast day on your birthday). This year, Lent begins on March 2. Our celebration of Easter will be very late this year on April 17. For those of you who may be wondering, the latest date Easter can be celebrated is April 25. Therefore, Easter this year is just one week away from the latest date that we can celebrate it! So, officially, it’s time to start thinking about the upcoming season of Lent. I encourage you to start thinking about your Lenten reading. We will soon publish the Lenten regulations as a reminder of what we should be doing for fast and abstinence during the season of Lent. Stay tuned! Lent is on its way! Thanks for reading! Fr. Mark