Ash Wednesday Schedule of Masses; Obligation of Fast and Abstinence

This Wednesday, March 5th, is Ash Wednesday and marks the beginning of the penitential season of Lent. 
Though not of obligation, one is encouraged to go to mass on this day and receive ashes as a sign of the commitment to do penance, so as to mortify our flesh and strengthen our immortal soul- "Remember O man that you are dust and unto dust you shall return."

We will have Mass at:

Corpus Christi Chapel: 7 am, 5:30pm. 

Resurrection, Fort Myers: 12:30pm. 

Ashes will blessed at the 7am mass and distributed at every mass that day.

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence. For members of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 through age 59, inclusively. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals/snacks that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards. If one wishes to freely observe the older discipline in force in 1962 (and thus not currently obligatory), one may see those rules at https://materdeiparish.com/laws-days-abstinence-penance-fast/