Catholics in greater DC metro area are invited back into the fold during Lent

Today, Feb. 18, which is Ash Wednesday, the Diocese of Arlington, in conjunction with the Archdiocese of Washington, launched its eighth annual Lenten campaign known as The Light is On for You (http://www.thelightison.org). 

This 40-day initiative is an opportunity for Catholics throughout the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to come back to the Catholic Church through the Sacrament of Confession. 

Priests throughout the diocese will be hearing Confessions from 6:30-8 p.m. on Wednesday evenings throughout Lent in addition to their regular weekly schedule.

This “welcome back” campaign has been so successful that numerous dioceses throughout the nation have adopted it as a Lenten initiative, according to a news release from the diocese.

Diocese of Arlington has released a three-minute video on the beauty of the sacrament, one that is mysterious to non-Catholics and often mischaracterized as a source of guilt and shame, the release stated. “The video offers a window into the reality that the sacrament is a means to experience freedom and joy,” the release went on to say.  See it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KiD1SdOn6Q&feature=youtu.be

Daily Lenten reflections are available via text message or email by texting LENT to 84576.