Boston Herald
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/
view.bg?articleid=1071854&srvc=home&position=5

Ash Wednesday marks start of Lent

Thursday, February 7, 2008

By Simone Press

Haley DeCarlo of South Boston prays with her boyfriend Mike Clark after receiving ashes as Catholics gathered at St. Anthony’s Shrine on Arch Street in Boston yesterday.

Boston-area Catholics, including Haley DeCarlo, and Mike Clark marked the start of the Lenten season yesterday by receiving the traditional ashes of burned palms in the shape of a cross on their foreheads while at St. Anthony’s Shrine.

Ash Wednesday, which begins the 40-day countdown to Easter, is a time of repentance and reflection for the faithful. Cardinal Sean O’Malley marked the occasion by presiding over a Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, in the South End.

“The Lenten season presents us the opportunity to deepen our relationship with God through prayer, fasting and recognition of our need to be reconciled with the Lord and one another,” O’Malley said.