Originally published at Orange County Catholic
LENT IS A 40-DAY SEASON of prayer, fasting and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Thursday.
Many symbols and traditions surround the Lenten season. One tradition is the abstaining of meat on Fridays and Ash Wednesday during Lent. Abstinence from meat is a form of penance many Catholics practice to unite themselves with Christ’s suffering on the cross and grow in their spiritual discipline. At parishes across the Diocese of Orange, the Lenten dinner or Fish Fry is a popular tradition following attendance at their churches’ Stations of the Cross devotion.
A MEMBER OF ST. CECILIA’S VIETNAMESE EUCHARISTIC YOUTH MINISTRY SERVES FOOD DURING A LENTEN DINNER HELD ON MARCH 14. PHOTO BY STEVEN GEORGES/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
St. Cecilia parish has a long and proud history of providing Lenten dinners to its faithful after attending one of its three Friday evening Station of the Cross offerings. St. Cecilia offers Stations of
the Cross at devotions at 5 p.m. in English, 6 p.m. in Spanish and 7 p.m. in Vietnamese. The devotions are followed by a Lenten dinner starting at 5:30 p.m.
On Friday evening, March 14, St. Cecilia provided a sanctuary from the steady rain, allowing all
