Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Easter is Sunday, April 20, 2025
MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR LENT 2025
“May the hope that does not disappoint (cf. Rom 5:5), the central message of the Jubilee, be the focus of our Lenten journey towards the victory of Easter. As Pope Benedict XVI taught us in the Encyclical Spe Salvi, “the human being needs unconditional love. He needs the certainty which makes him say: ‘neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Rom 8:38-39)”. Christ, my hope, has risen! He lives and reigns in glory. Death has been transformed into triumph, and the faith and great hope of Christians rests in this: the resurrection of Christ!”
– Pope Francis (full text here.)
Lent: Becoming Worthy to Share in the Resurrection
Staff Report, The Florida Catholic, Venice edition (February 28, 2025) — The Lenten Season is an important time to take the opportunity to refocus one’s thinking on how to grow closer to God and farther away from evil.
Lent is one of the most important liturgical seasons of the Church’s calendar and begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2025. The faithful prepare during this season for Holy Week, those sacred days in the Church calendar when we celebrate the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Paschal Mystery of the Faith.
“The faithful are all called to know better their faith, to live it more deeply, and share their love of the Lord with others,” Bishop Frank J. Dewane said. “This ties in directly with our Lenten call to turn our lives over to Christ and to be more that man or woman of God He calls us to be. We are called to bear witness to the Lord by following the example of His suffering by making us worthy to share in His Resurrection.”
The three pillars of the Lenten observance, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others. The Lord calls each person to total commitment. By practicing these observances together, they become more than the sum of their parts. Bishop Dewane said by joining the pillars together we hear the Word of God more deliberately and devote ourselves to prayer more ardently as we celebrate the Paschal Mystery. The pillars become part of a faith that flourishes and a heart that is increasingly dedicated to the Lord.
Fasting and abstinence
Fasting and abstinence is not just about food, or lack of it, but instead is really about sacrifice for the benefit of our spiritual lives – a fasting from sin. Sacrifice and self-denial should not be viewed as something to lament but instead should be viewed as an opportunity to remove anything that distracts us from Jesus Christ and a reception of grace. Fasting and abstinence are about spiritual conversion and renewal, not solely about meat and no food.
For early Christians, fasting was an important and meaningful Lenten practice in commemoration of Christ’s Passion and Death. The current Lenten discipline, set forth by the Roman Catholic Church, consists of both fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday (March 5) and Good Friday (April 18), as well as abstaining from meat each Friday of Lent. (see box on Page 4)
“This is an opportunity to teach ourselves an internal discipline,” Bishop Dewane said. “It is good to recognize and to use it as a reminder of what it is we should be fasting from and that is sin. When fasting, or abstaining from meat, this Lenten Season try not to just ‘follow the motions,’ so to speak, make an extra effort to improve upon the spiritual areas of one’s life.”
Prayer
The second Lenten pillar is prayer, which the Catechism tells us is coupled with charity. All Catholics are called to a meaningful prayer life. A prayer life includes both personal, which comes from the heart, and traditional prayer. With both dimensions, the faithful grow closer to both Christ Himself and His Church.
Prayer is an indispensable component of the Catholic Faith. By growing and maturing in faith, prayer becomes an act of worship. Prayer is recognized as a critical act of public worship in the Church, especially in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
The five basic forms of prayer are blessing, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise. When someone prays in any one of these forms, they are expressing a different emotion, need, concern or appreciation. No two prayers from the heart are the same, just as no two conversations are the same.
“In this Lenten Season we are called to pray with a deeper sense of spirituality and examine how we can step up our prayer life,” Bishop Dewane said. “This goes beyond a short rote prayer, which can be done in a second and does not require meditation or reflection; prayer requires the input of the heart and soul. And just as importantly, we have to have the patience to listen in prayer. Listen to what the Lord is saying and how is it that God speaks to you.”
Almsgiving
The third pillar of Lent, almsgiving, is coupled in the Catechism with self-denial. While often mentioned as the last of the three traditional pillars of the Lenten observance, it is certainly not the least of the three and is often completely misunderstood. The Church’s expression of almsgiving is an act of self-denial, or an expression of charity and assistance extended to the needy.
By almsgiving during Lent, one not only expresses care for those in need, but also expresses a sign of gratitude for all God has provided in one’s own life. These acts of charity are connected to the responsibilities of living the faith that begins with baptism and is reignited in the Sacrament of Confirmation.
“Almsgiving is about taking the extra step in reaching out in charity and love,” Bishop Dewane said. The Catechism states, “almsgiving, together with prayer and fasting, are traditionally recommended to foster the state of interior penance.”
“In a sense, almsgiving is a type of prayer,” Bishop Dewane said. “Because almsgiving requires sacrifice. It is also a sort of fasting from the material world, in what could have been purchased. We try too hard to silo these pillars and not let them be an integrated expression from our soul as to why we are doing this – to recall the Paschal Mystery – how Jesus saved us – and our being open to receiving the greatness of that gift.”
Reconciliation
In addition, Bishop Dewane said the precept of confessing grave sins and receiving Holy Communion, at least once during the Lenten Season, merits a reminder.
To facilitate this requirement, every Parish in the Diocese of Venice will be open with a confessor present 4 to 8 p.m., Friday, April 11, and 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, April 12. Check with your local Parish for additional confession times or the availability of a Penance Service. In addition, the Diocese will be participating in 24 Hours with the Lord, as called for by Pope Francis during Jubilee Year 2025, on March 28-29. Designated Parishes in each portion of the Diocese (Deanery), will be open with confessors available. These opportunities are made available so that the faithful may find ample opportunity to receive God’s Mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation during the Lenten Season.
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TV Mass
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Relevant Radio
Bishop Dewane discusses Lent with Father Mark Harris on the February 28, 2025, episode of “Witnessing Faith with Bishop Dewane” on Relevant Radio. To listen, click here.
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Resources
The Three Pillars of Lent:
Sacrament of Reconciliation and Examination of Conscience
Sacrament of Reconciliation
The precept of confessing grave sins and receiving Holy Communion at least once during the Lenten Season merits a reminder. To facilitate this requirement, every Parish in the Diocese of Venice will be open with a confessor present 4 to 8 p.m., Friday, April 11, and 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, April 12.
In addition, the Diocese will be participating in 24 Hours with the Lord on March 28 – 29, as called for by Pope Francis during Jubilee Year 2025. Designated Parishes in each portion of the Diocese (Deanery), will be open with confessors available.
These opportunities are made available so that the faithful may find ample opportunity to receive God’s Mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Check with your local Parish for additional confession times or the availability of a Penance Service.
Examination of Conscience
Before celebrating the Sacrament of Penance, it is advised that one prepare oneself with an examination of conscience, which involves reflecting prayerfully on one’s thoughts, words, and deeds in order to identify any sins. More about Examination of Conscience can be found from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) here.
Ash Wednesday, March 5: A call to conversion, repentance, and reconciliation
We begin our 40 Days of Lent by entering into the desert with Jesus. The ashes remind us of our mortality and our need for conversion. The discipline of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving is the remedy that the Church gives us during this penitential time of repentance, conversion, and reconciliation.
March 9 – First Sunday of Lent
“Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days,
to be tempted by the devil.” Luke 4:1-13
March 16 – Second Sunday of Lent
“I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
The Lord is my light and my salvation.”
Psalm 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14
March 19 – Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
“Inspired by the Gospel, the Fathers of the Church from the earliest centuries stressed that just as St. Joseph took loving care of Mary and gladly dedicated himself to Jesus Christ’s upbringing, he likewise watches over and protects Christ’s Mystical Body, that is, the Church, of which the Virgin Mary is the exemplar and model.” — St. John Paul II (Litany of St. Joseph)
March 23 – Third Sunday of Lent
“He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills,
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.”
– Psalm 103: 3-4
“The Lord is kind and merciful.”
March 25 – Annunciation of the Lord
“And he came to her and said, ‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!’…And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus…The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God…And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.’” Luke 1: 28, 30, 35, 38
March 28 – 29 – 24 Hours with the Lord
The Diocese of Venice will be participating in 24 Hours with the Lord on March 28 – 29, as called for by Pope Francis during Jubilee Year 2025. Designated Parishes in each portion of the Diocese (Deanery), will be open with confessors available. These opportunities are made available so that the faithful may find ample opportunity to receive God’s Mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Check with your local Parish for additional confession times or the availability of a Penance Service.
March 30 – Laetare Sunday
Laetare means “rejoice” in Latin, and the rose color is one that symbolizes joy. Priests may where rose-colored vestments and the altar may have some flowers adorning it today. During Lent, as in Advent (Gaudete Sunday), the Church allows a little pause in our penitential practices, to experience the hope and joy of the coming of the Easter Solemnity, and to gather our strength, to be refreshed in body and soul, and to be encouraged as we enter into the final portion of Lent when we enter into the holiest of days, the Triduum.
April 6 – Fifth Sunday of Lent
““Let the one among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8: 1-11
April 11 – 12 – Diocesan-wide Confessions
The precept of confessing grave sins and receiving Holy Communion at least once during the Lenten Season merits a reminder. To facilitate this requirement, every Parish in the Diocese of Venice will be open with a confessor present 4 to 8 p.m., Friday, April 11, and 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, April 12. These opportunities are made available so that the faithful may find ample opportunity to receive God’s Mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Check with your local Parish for additional confession times or the availability of a Penance Service.
April 13 – Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
Today is Palm Sunday, Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
“…found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:6-11
Holy Week, Monday, April 14 – Thursday, April 17
April 15, Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. – Diocese of Venice Chrism Mass, St. John the Evangelist Parish
Read more about the annual Blessing of the Oils and the Consecration of the Chrism from the USCCB here. Watch as Bishop Frank J. Dewane blesses and consecrates the Chrism Oil at a former Holy Chrism Mass, here.
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The Paschal Triduum, Thursday, April 17 – Sunday, April 20
Entering the Paschal Mystery
The Easter Triduum begins with the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with Evening Prayer on Easter Sunday.
General Information from the USCCB, click here.
Questions and answers, click here.
Holy Thursday (Last Supper), April 17
Today is Holy Thursday, the first day of the Sacred Triduum We commemorate the institution of the Holy Eucharist, the institution of the Sacred Priesthood, and Jesus washing the feet of the apostles, establishing the mission of charity of all Christians to serve one another.
Good Friday, April 18
Today is Good Friday, the Passion of the Lord
“Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.” Isaiah 53: 4-5
Holy Saturday, April 19
Today is Holy Saturday, a day of profound mystery: Christ is dead and yet he remains busy at work, descending to the underworld to free the righteous held captive in the chains of death. The mournful suspense of Holy Saturday is thus imbued with the certainty of the Resurrection. Though our earthly sojourn be continually tinged by death, we know that our longing to exult in the fullness of redemption is not in vain. The Son of God himself has passed through death to rob it of its apparent finality. In Jesus, life wins.” From the Magnificat, comment on Holy Saturday.The Lord’s Descent into Hell– Excerpt from an Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday on Christ’s Descent into Hell:“‘I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person.”
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The Easter Season, Sunday, April 20 – Sunday, June 8
April 20 – Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord
“The Lord is truly risen, alleluia! To him be glory and power for all the ages of eternity, alleluia, alleluia!” Lk 24:34
April 25 – Solemnity of St. Mark, Evangelist & Co-Patron of the Diocese of Venice in Florida
St. Mark was the author of the Gospel of Mark. Although he was not one of the 12 Apostles, he was certainly a disciple of Jesus and a companion of Ss. Peter, Paul, and a cousin of St. Barnabas. He was the first bishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Martyred by pagans, St. Mark was tied to a horse and dragged through the streets until his body was so torn up that he died. He is the patron Saint of Egypt and the Patron of the Diocese of Venice in Florida. He is often depicted symbolically as a lion which has been traced to various Scriptural passages including Rev. 4:7, in which the beasts: the lion, ox, eagle and the human/angel are traditionally connected with the 4 evangelists. St. Mark, Bishop and Martyr, pray for us and pray for Bishop Dewane and the priests and people of the Diocese of Venice in Florida!
April 27 – Divine Mercy Sunday
Jesus revealed to St. Faustina: “I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet.”
— St. Faustina’s Diary 699
For more about Divine Mercy Sunday, visit the USCCB website.
April 29 – St. Catherine of Siena – Memorial
St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) was a mystic and a Doctor of the Church. She was one of 25 siblings, half of whom did not make it past infancy, including her twin. St. Catherine was not a nun but a Third Order Dominican, connected to the Dominican Order, but free to remain at home and serve her family, the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned. She was instrumental in convincing Pope Gregory XI to return from France back to his rightful residence in Rome, Italy, after 67 years of popes residing in Avignon, France. She had a mystical experience of marriage with Christ, and though invisible, received the stigmata as a gift for her devotion to the Passion and suffering of Jesus. She died at the age of 33.
St. Catherine of Siena, pray for us!
May 1 – Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker
The Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker is celebrated on this day, May 1. Pope Pius XII established this feast day in 1955 in stark contrast to the “celebration” of labor by communist governments on the same day. Pope Pius XII pointed out the dignity and holiness of the human person and the work that is done which serves not only to sanctify the laborer but shows the holiness of the work itself. That the human person, is not just a tool or a cog in the wheel of machinery but created by God to participate in the cultivation, protection, and sanctification of the earth (Gen. 2:15). St. Joseph, a carpenter, would have served the Holy Family in just such a manner, and would certainly have taught the skill of carpentry to Jesus.
St. Joseph, provider, protector, and laborer for the Holy Family and the Catholic Church, pray for us!
May 2 – Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
St. Athanasius was Bishop of Alexandria in the 300’s. He is often called “Athanasius Against the World,” because during his life, he fought a widespread heresy that denied the Divinity of Christ. Arius, a priest, spread this false doctrine so wide in the Catholic Church through song and convincing false teaching, that St. Jerome is quoted as saying, “The whole world groaned and was astonished to find itself Arian.” Due to his resolve, and bearing the cross of exile many times, St. Athanasius fought this heresy until Arius’ death. The Council of Nicaea in 325, from which we get the Nicaean Creed, clearly affirmed the Divinity of Christ. St. Athanasius, pray for us!
May 3 – Feast of Ss. Philip and James, Apostles
“Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 “Jesus found Philip and said to him: Follow me!” John 1:43
May 4 – 3rd Sunday of Easter
The Gospel: “While they were still speaking…he stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see, I have.’” Luke: 24:36-37
May 11 – 4th Sunday of Easter
The Gospel: “Jesus said, ‘I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.’” John 10: 11, 14-15.
The Good Shepherd has risen, who laid down his life for his sheep and willingly died for his flock, alleluia.
May 14 – Feast of St. Mathias
“Then they prayed, ‘You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.’ Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the Eleven Apostles.” Acts 1:24-26
May 18 – 5th Sunday of Easter
The Gospel: “Jesus said to his disciples…I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.’” John 15:5
May 25 – 6th Sunday of Easter
“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you…this I command you: love one another.” John 15: 12-14, 17
June 1 – Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
“God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord!” Psalm 47:2
June 8 – Solemnity of Pentecost
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created,
and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray.
O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit have instructed the hearts of the faithful,
grant that in the same Spirit we may be truly wise
and ever rejoice in his consolation.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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