Lent

Whereas, the disciplinary practice of abstaining from meat on the Fridays in Lent is an important dimension of the penitential nature of the season and applies to all Catholics who have reached the age of fourteen (canons 1251 and 1252); Whereas, this year the Feast of St. Patrick, March 17, falls on a Friday in Lent; Now therefore, in accord with canon 87 §1 of the Code of Canon Law, given the many celebrations that occur on this day in commemoration of St. Patrick, Principal Patron of the Diocese of Norwich and titular of the Cathedral, I hereby grant to all Ca...

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Please enjoy this recording of Fr. Jacob Ramos sharing his vocation story as part of the Office of Faith Event's Virtual Lenten Mission.     Lenten Mission - Fr. Jacob Ramos from Office of Faith Events-Norwich on Vimeo.

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lent

All are invited to join professional performer VaILimar Jansen for a two-night Lenten Mission with the theme REBIRTH RECONNECT RECOMMIT. Ms. Jansen uses song, dramatization and reflection to engage the audience in a spiritual experience. ValLimar tours the United States, Europe, Israel and the Far East as an inspirational speaker, author, storyteller and singer. The event will be held at St. John Church, 5 St. John’s Court, Cromwell, on Sunday, March 19 and Monday, March 20, from 7:00-8:30pm.  Refreshments will follow as well as the opportunity to speak ...

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The Most Reverend Michael R. Cote, D.D.,  Bishop of Norwich delivered his Ash Wednesday message during the Noon Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick in Norwich. Drawing on the Readings and insight from Saint Augustine Bishop Cote shares with us words of encouragement to begin our Lenten journey. Homily begins at 19:10 in the video below.  

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Mass, BishopCote, AshWednesday

Manna in the Desert: Letting Love Rend Our Hearts All are welcome to enjoy three evening conferences preached by Eucharistic Revival preacher Father Emmanuel Mansford, CFR on March 20, 21 and 22 at 6:30pm at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick. Mission evenings will include opportunities for Adoration, Confession, personal prayer and participation. A 6:30pm Mass on Wednesday will be followed with light refreshments. Father Emmanuel was born in London and served as a missionary with NET Ministries from 1995 to ...

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lent

Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. Here are a couple of videos that explain the season of Lent. It's a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter. During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms, and we practice self-control through fasting. We are called not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent but to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ's ...

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History of Lent - What did fasting used to look like? The Lenten season, preparation for Easter, has been observed from the onset of the Church, although there have been inconsistencies with duration and practices. The Council of Nicea, 325 A.D., established Easter’s fluid date as the Sunday following the first full moon of the vernal equinox. In 461 A.D., Pope St. Leo established the duration as 40 consecutive days before Easter. Pope Gregory the Great, in the sixth century, added the dispensing of ashes the preceding Wednesday (Ash Wednesday), making Lent 46 days...

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lent

Starting Ash Wednesday, Catholics enter the season of Lent, where we are called to fast, pray, give alms and prepare for the joyful celebration of Easter. Many of us, however, approach Lent simply as an uncomfortable time of reluctantly “giving up x” or “doing more y.” We just try to survive Lent until we can satiate our increasing hunger for dessert, Instagram, alcohol or the snooze button. Also, for the record, I never want meat as badly as I do on Fridays in Lent. Things changed for me when I started asking Jesus to transform my understanding o...

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lent

“Dear brothers and sisters, every moment of our lives is a time for believing, hoping and loving. The call to experience Lent as a journey of conversion, prayer and sharing of our goods, helps us—as communities and as individuals—to revive the faith that comes from the living Christ, the hope inspired by the breath of the Holy Spirit and the love flowing from the merciful heart of the Father.” —Pope Francis, Message for Lent, 2021 Daily Lenten Inspirations Calendar Click Here Looking for additional resources to help you prepare for Ea...

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It’s hard to believe but fairly soon we will be in the midst of the Lenten season. This is a time for us to focus on God by devoting time to deepening our faith and prayer lives.  One way many of us do this is by devoting more time to prayer, attending daily Mass, fasting from something we enjoy, or offering alms for those in need. In addition to these practices, this Lent I challenge each of you to seek out the face of God in your daily encounters with others.  I remember Lent my first year of graduate school when I was 22 and working for a local Cath...

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