Lent

Below are some resources and our schedule of Lenten events to help you on your journey towards Easter.

Ash Wednesday, March 1, is the beginning of our Lenten journey to Easter joy.  Traditionally, Catholics use this time to examine themselves, their strengths and weaknesses, their relationships, and most of all, their relationship with God.  Is there a bad habit you've been meaning to address?  Is there a new good habit you've been wanting to begin?  Now is the time!  The act of "giving something up" or adding a particular practice to our routine is all centered on our own interior growth- a denying of "self" and a new openness to God. St.Mary of the Angels offers many opportunities for spiritual growth in the many ministries and faith based activities already in place, as well as offering new opportunities this Lent.  

Lenten Regulations:

Abstinence from meat is to be observed by all Catholics 14 years old and older on Ash Wednesday and on all the Fridays of Lent.  Fasting is to be observed on Ash Wednesday by all Catholics who are 18 years of age but not yet 59. If medical conditions necessitate, then Catholics are exempt from fasting or abstinence. Those who are bound by this may take only one full meal. Two smaller meals are permitted if necessary to maintain strength according to one‘s needs, but eating solid foods between meals is not permitted. The special Paschal fast, as well as abstinence, are also prescribed for Good Friday and encouraged for Holy Saturday. 
Check out this link for a quick reference guide: https://churchpop.com/2015/02/18/your-illustrated-guide-to-lenten-fasting-and-abstinence/

Lenten Resources:

• Download My Parish App to get Lent reflections on your mobile device. This app is a valuable resource for accessing our schedule of events, Mass/confession times, parish updates and much more! You may need to refresh your app to get the updated Lent material. Do so by clicking 3 horizontal bars on upper left corner. Choose "change parish" then choose St. Mary's again. This will re-set your app to receive the new Lent background and the reflections button on the home screen. 
• Sign up to get daily video Lenten inspiration from Matthew Kelly at dynamiccatholic.com They are about 3 min. long and can have a powerful effect on transforming your life. 
• Bishop Robert Barron offers daily reflections by signing up here.
• The United States Council of Catholic Bishops Lenten resources are here.
• Loyola Press offers Living Lent Daily, an email program delivering fresh scriptural insights to your inbox.  Other great resources can be found on their website.
• Do you like informative ( and sometimes amusing) videos? Try Ascension Presents, a Catholic You Tube site.
• Busted Halo offers a "Lent and Ash Wednesday  in 2 minutes" video.

Pope Francis' message for Lent 2017 Lent is a new beginning, a path leading to the certain goal of Easter, Christ’s victory over death. This season urgently calls us to conversion. Christians are asked to return to God “with all their hearts” (Joel 2:12), to refuse to settle for mediocrity and to grow in friendship with the Lord. Jesus is the faithful friend who never abandons us. Even when we sin, he patiently awaits our return; by that patient expectation, he shows us his readiness to forgive. [read more]

Lent Apps for your mobile devices - a comprehensive listing of the best apps designed for Lent. Pope Francis describes Lent as a “time of grace” and invites everyone to “live this Lent as an opportunity for engaging in … a formation of the heart.” Several Catholic apps are exclusively devoted to Lenten devotions and works of charity designed to assist you in doing just that–opening your heart to transformative graces so you can go out there and transform the world.

Questions about Lent? The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops offers a Q & A to help you understand this season of grace.

Check back frequently during the Season for updates!

March 1, ASH WEDNESDAY Masses will be at 7:00 AM , 12:15 PM and 5:30 PM with distribution of Ashes included. Services with Ashes at 6:30 AM, 3:00 PM, 4:00 PM with a communion service with ashes at 6:30 PM at the Oratory of the Sacred Heart.

DIVINE MERCY PARISH MISSION - March 2-5, 2017 At Our Lady of Peace in Salamanca. Lent is a time of penance in preparation for remembering the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord, which leads to the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday. Come hear Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, speak on the message and devotion of Divine Mercy and why it is so important for our time, especially as we make our Lenten journey. Church address: 274 Broad Street. See link for more details and complete schedule! or call Fr. Peter at 716-945-4966
First Penance March 4 at 10:00am. 
Confession - 5:00pm in church confessional. Holy Week Confession - Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels Mon., April 10 - 5PM; Tues, April 11 - 7:45 AM; Wed. April 12 7PM.  
Stations of the Cross every Wednesday and Friday at 11:30am
Stations of the Cross and Soup Supper on Fridays of Lent 6:30pm starting March 10. Immediately following praying the traditional Stations of the Cross, join us downstairs for soup/bread supper--a great fellowship opportunity.
Pivotal Players DVD series --Adult faith formation opportunity! Join us as we learn about some of the Catholic Church's most influential people: St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Siena, Bl. John Henry Newman, GK Chesterton, Michelangelo and many more! From the creators of the popular CATHOLICISM series. 13 sessions end April 7. Come to one or all and join in the discussion afterwards. For more info. contact Lisa@smaolean.org or see link above. WHERE: Kathleen Wright Conference Room WHEN: Tuesdays,beginning the week of Jan. 10th  and ending the week of April 14th ,from 7-8:30 p.m, and again for the same session - on Fridays at 10:30 a.m.- 12 noon.  Folks of all ages are welcome to come. See link for video overview of this tremendous series. 
Bach's Lunch - Annual Holy Week concert by the BRASS ENSEMBLE of the Southern Tier Symphony. April 11 at 11:30am. Enjoy live classical music suitable for the season. A wonderful concert to bring children to. If you miss it at St. Mary's, they will do an encore presentation at St. Elizabeth Motherhouse in Allegany the same day at 1:00pm.
Community Way of the Cross on Good Friday, April 14  Noon to 3pm. Sponsored by the Greater Olean Association of Churches.  Details to follow. 
Liturgy of the Hours - We offer this all year long, but Lent is a particularly blessed time to increase your prayer life by praying the "hours" designated by the Church with the special prayers of the Church. This takes about 15 minutes--very easy to fit into your busy day and we even provide the prayer books! We meet in church Tuesday mornings immediately following 7am Mass (aprox. 7:45am) and again on Thursday mornings (7:45) and Thursday evenings at 4:45pm, just before Adoration. We also offer this prayer on Mondays at 7:00pm at the Oratory of the Sacred Heart. Click link for more information on Liturgy of the Hours.