SJC Long Island Campus Ministry will celebrate Ash Wednesday Mass on Wednesday, March 2, during common hour in the McGann Conference Center.
Following Mass, attendees are invited to participate in a reading of prayers for Ukraine, answering Pope Francis’ call to dedicate the day to peace in light of the ongoing conflict.
“Ash Wednesday is always an appropriate moment to humble ourselves and be still,” said Cristian Murphy ’14, director of Campus Ministry at SJC Long Island. “This year more than ever do we see a tremendous need for prayer and reconciliation as we bear witness to the hurt in the world.”
Pope Francis also encouraged people to fast tomorrow as they pray, demonstrating the depth of their desire for their prayers.
“I encourage believers in a special way to dedicate themselves intensely to prayer and fasting on that day,” he said. “May the Queen of Peace preserve the world from the madness of war.”
While Lent gives Christians across the world the opportunity to enter into a spiritual pilgrimage toward Easter, Murphy noted the millions of people enduring a much different pilgrimage in Ukraine.
“This year, we are seeing so many people enter into physical, undesired pilgrimages away from their homes — refugees on a physical road to something unknown,” he said. “Let us hold that image in our hearts and minds; may it inspire us to do more when we can and provide solace to those we encounter.”
