Ash Wednesday observances set for Tampa, University Campus
The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 6. Mass will be celebrated at 11:30 a.m. and University Ministry will distribute ashes until 12:30 p.m. at Saint Jude Chapel near the Student Activities Building. In addition, Father Kyle Smith, university chaplain, will distribute ashes at the 5 p.m. Mass at the chapel.
The Tampa and MacDill education centers also invite everyone to attend Mass at 9 a.m. at the Tampa Education Center, 1120 E. Kennedy Blvd., Suite 238,Tampa, FL 33602. Father Kyle will celebrate Mass and distribute ashes.
The Saint Leo community also is invited to join the Benedictine Sisters of Florida for the observances at Holy Name Monastery, 12138 Wichers Road, St. Leo, FL 33574, off of State Road 52. At 6:30 a.m., there will be morning praise and the Eucharist along with the distribution of ashes. At 5:30 p.m., there will be evening prayers/vespers and ashes will be distributed.
The Saint Leo Abbey will celebrate Mass and distribute ashes at noon in the Abbey Church, with Abbot Isaac Camacho, OSB, presiding. Ashes also will be distributed in the church from 1:30 to 4:30 pm.
While Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation in the Catholic Church, Mass attendance and the receiving of ashes, reminding us to repent our sins, is a good way to begin the 40 days of Lent, which prepares Christians for Easter. During Lent, everyone is welcome to participate in prayer, fasting, and giving to those need, so that they may fully join in the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ at Easter.
As a reminder, Ash Wednesday is one of only two days on the liturgical calendar (the other being Good Friday), when fasting and abstinence are observed by Catholics and other Christians.
Before the fast begins, University Ministry will host a Fat Tuesday event at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 5, on the Kirk Hall lawn. Pizza, king cake, and other refreshments will be served.
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