Detroit — As a traditional sign of penance, area Catholics got their annual Lenten observance off to visible start attending Mass and receiving the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Lenten regulations Lent began with Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22, and continues until the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, April 5. Days to observe: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of total fast and abstinence; the Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence. Catholics are encouraged to observe the Good Friday fast through Holy Saturday and until the celebration of the Easter Vigil. Fasting: Fasting means a person should eat only one full meal a day; two lighter meals are allowed, but should not add up to more than the one full meal. The time of day of the full meal doesn’t matter. Abstinence: The law of abstinence forbids the eating of meat, including chicken. It does not forbid the use of eggs, milk products or condiments made from animal fat. Also permissible are soups flavored with meat, meat gravy and sauces. Fish and shellfish are OK. Who is bound?: Fasting is required of Catholics from the day after their 18th birthday through the day of their 59th birthday; abstinence is required from the day after one’s 14th birthday throughout life.

“I always look forward to Lent as a sort of 40-day retreat,” said Fr. Robert Fisher, pastor of St. Lawrence Parish, Utica.

“Lent is a time of penance, but it is also a time for us to grow closer to the Lord, to grow deeper in our faith,” he said.

One of the best ways to do that is through the sacrament of reconciliation, he said.

“There is something so powerful about having your sins forgiven and receiving absolution that can’t happen except one-on-one with the priest standing in the place of Jesus — and I say this both from being the person in the priest’s chair and from being a penitent myself,” Fr. Fisher said.

Fr. Fisher said his parish makes confessions available for children of the parish’s elementary school, as well as after school for other children to make their confessions.

And besides St. Lawrence’s usual time for hearing confessions at 3:30 p.m. Saturdays, the parish also participates with three other nearby parishes — St. Isidore, Macomb Township, and St. Therese of Lisieux and St. John Vianney parishes, both in Shelby Township — in a series of communal penance services, with opportunity for individual confession and absolution.

Fr. Douglas Terrien, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, Lapeer, also stressed the importance of the sacrament of reconciliation during Lent: “One of the themes that our Lord expresses in the Ash Wednesday Gospel is that we need to confess our sins and return to him in our heart. There is no better way to prepare for Easter Sunday than by making ourselves clean.”

When it comes to Lenten discipline, Fr. Terrien said he is a strong believer in the importance of making a sacrifice: “I’m still kind of old-fashioned — it’s what you give up, rather than something else you do.”

At St. Gabriel Parish in southwest Detroit, Fr. Jaime Hinojos said, “We keep a holy Lent by embracing the redemptive power of Jesus Christ as a family. We begin Lent gathered as a family of families; and first talk about reconciliation with one another.”

Through the Words of Christ and His Presence among the congregation, the people of the parish know Jesus is real and celebrate a new life In Christ, Fr. Hinojos continued.

“We do not dare to doubt the power of God to forgive sinners, and so we dedicate four hours a week to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation,” he added.

At SS. Cyril & Methodius Parish in Sterling Heights, Fr. Benjamin Kosnac recommended regular and steady daily prayer during Lent, as well as taking part in special Lenten devotions.

And when it comes to opportunities for confession, “I don’t see how we could possibly offer more; we offer confession a half-hour before every Mass, and we have 27 Masses a week,” he said.