THE LENTEN SEASON STARTS ON ASH WEDNESDAY: February 17, 2021 is Ash Wednesday and is a day of fasting (limiting the portion of food to be consumed) and abstinence (no meat). St. Michael parish will offer three opportunities to receive the ashes. • 12pm- Liturgy of the Word (no communion) in Spanish • 6pm- Mass in English • 8pm- Mass in Spanish. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, the Rite will be adapted as follows. Fr. Mark will address all those present and only once saying the formula as it appears in the Roman Missal, applying it to all in general: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel,” or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Right after this, Fr. Mark will clean his hands with hand sanitizer, puts on a face mask, and distributes the ashes by sprinkling them on the head of each one without saying anything. This method of ashes by sprinkling is a common practice in other countries, but is not well known in the United States. Click the blue title "Ash Wednesday" to watch an instructional video.