Ash Wednesday marks the start of the season of Lent. This is a special holy day of fasting and prayer as we prepare to observe a period of penitence before Easter. In this we follow the example of Jesus himself, who went into the wilderness and fasted for forty days and forty nights.

During these weeks we acknowledge our need for the love and forgiveness of God; through the traditional Lenten disciplines of prayer, self-examination, fasting and works of charity. The traditional service on Ash Wednesday prepares us for these disciplines by asking for God’s grace to keep them.