Bishop David Zubik to Celebrate Ash Wednesday Masses

Distribution of ashes will be different due to COVID
Parish fish fries are take-out and delivery only

On Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2021, Catholic Bishop David A. Zubik will celebrate Mass and preach at 12 noon at Divine Mercy Parish in St. Mary of Mercy Church, Downtown, and at 6 PM at Saint Paul Cathedral in Oakland. 

The Masses will be livestreamed through the diocesan website, https://youtube.com/c/DioPitt.
They will also be cablecast at noon on Comcast Channel 95 (Pittsburgh) and online at www.ChristianAssociatesTV.org.

The Pittsburgh Faith and Family Channel will also carry the noon St. Mary of Mercy Mass over the air on WPCB 40.6 and at www.ctvn.org/pff/schedule, an app at ctvn.org/apps and on Roku.

Due to the pandemic, clergy will not mark a cross with ashes on people’s foreheads, as is usually done in the United States. Directives from the Holy See (i.e., The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments) have been sent to all dioceses outlining procedures that are already followed in many parts of the world.  The manner in which ashes are to be distributed is as follows: clergy are to first bless the ashes, sprinkle them with holy water, and address all those present by saying one time, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel,” or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Then, instead of making the sign of the cross with ashes on the forehead of each person, this year ashes will be sprinkled on top of the head.

“It will help the priest or deacon to avoid having direct contact with a large amount of people,” said Father Tom Kunz, diocesan associate general secretary and vicar for canonical services. “This method of receiving ashes is common in other countries.”

Stations of the Cross
Bishop Zubik along with seminarians from Saint Paul Seminary will be going to selected parishes to pray the Stations of the Cross on the Friday evenings of Lent.

Abstinence, fasting and fish fries
The Catholic observance of Lent includes days of fast and abstinence. Those 14 and older are obliged to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesdays and on all the Fridays of Lent. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, healthy people ages 18-59 are to fast by limiting themselves to one full meal and two lighter meals.  Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence in the United States.  Those with a medical condition that makes fasting inadvisable are not obliged to fast but should perform some other act of penance or charity.  Additional details about Lent may be found on the Diocese of Pittsburgh website, https://diopitt.org/lent. 

Due to Friday abstinence, Friday fish fries are a popular Lenten event. The annual Pittsburgh Catholic Fish Fry Guide will be posted online before Ash Wednesday. The food will be available only through take-out or, where offered, delivery options. Parishes in the diocese of Pittsburgh continue to follow all local, state, and federal COVID-19 health and safety requirements and regulations.  

Background on Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent in the Roman Catholic Church and many other Christian traditions. The practice of receiving ashes on the head comes from the Hebrew scriptures, in which ashes signify humility, mortality, sorrow and repentance. Early Christians who had committed grave sins were sprinkled with the ashes as part of a ritual of public penance. Later, all Catholics began to receive ashes as a reminder that all have sinned and have need for reflection, prayer and penance.