After Advent and Christmas, Lent is the third season of the Catholic Church’s liturgical year which begins with Ash Wednesday, a six-week period of penance before Easter. This year, it falls on March 5. It marks the first day of Lent, when every Christian is asked to begin a time of reflection and penitence. In the Old Testament, Job repented for his sins in dust and ashes. (Job 42:5-6). On this day, people flock churches to have ashes imposed on their foreheads in a form of the cross, with the priest saying: “Remember, man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return. (Genesis 3:19). The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.” (Gen. 2:7). The ashes signify our mortality, inner fragility and poverty, while the cross indicates our salvation in the mercy of God. We are redeemed by Christ with his crucifixion on Good Friday. During these 40 days of Lent we join Jesus in sacrifice and withdrawal into the dessert. We practice fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday, Fridays of Lent and Good Friday. The law of abstinence requires those 14 years of age and above, abstaining from eating meat. Meat is considered to be flesh and organs of mammals and fowl including soups or gravies made from them. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles and shellfish are permitted, as are animal-derived products such as gelatin, butter, cheese and eggs, which do not have any meat taste.