SCRANTON – Churches throughout the Diocese of Scranton were filled with the faithful on Ash Wednesday as people gathered to mark the beginning of the Lenten season.
From rural churches to the Diocesan Cathedral, people turned out to receive ashes and they began their journey of reflection and renewal.
At the 12:10 p.m. Mass, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, began his homily by asking for continued prayers for Pope Francis, who remains in the hospital.
“We pray God’s mercy, love, and healing presence in his life,” the Bishop said.
Bishop Bambera then reflected on how this Lenten season falls within the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, saying that the challenges we face in life can provide us with a context for hope. He explained Lent provides every person the opportunity to engage the Lord in a “deeper way” and “walk more closely with Him.”
“There is always hope for the believer in Jesus Christ,” he stated.
The readings for Ash Wednesday spoke of God’s call to repentance, to return to Him with our whole hearts. The bishop explained this message in simple terms, urging people to see the hope in the ashes on their foreheads.
“Yes, they remind us of our mortality, our need for repentance and change, yet the journey we begin today ends not merely with this moment in which ashes are placed on our foreheads. No, it begins something much, much more,” Bishop Bambera explained.
Just as Bishop Bambera was reaching the end of his homily, a sudden rustling from above caused him to pause. Circling the Cathedral was a large bat – its wings beating erratically, flying in unpredictable loops, as though it, too, had come to witness the beginning of Lent.
While some parishioners shifted in their seats and others exchanged nervous chuckles, the bat had no intention of leaving.
“That will make you remember this day,” the Bishop joked. “How do I go on here?”
The sight of the bat, in all its flapping, confused glory, seemed oddly fitting, a strange interruption in an otherwise sacred moment.
“For some reason, God is calling us to this experience,” the Bishop said with a smile. “We know the power of God, and we know the Lord will indeed protect us, no matter how low that bat flies.”
The faithful laughed, the tension easing as the bat continued its erratic flight until the end of Mass, when it was caught in a collection basket and set free outside of the Cathedral.
Outside the Cathedral, some parishioners shared what they were giving up for Lent – sweets, social media, or other comforts – while others spoke of the things they hoped to do more of, like prayer, charity and acts of kindness.
“I’ll give up my anger, or at least try to quell it,” parishioner Deneal Scrivani of Lykens said. “It’s a difficult time right now so I think that we just have to look deeper into ourselves.”
“I’m actually introducing more. I’m going to increase my prayer life, in the absence of giving something up, adding something to my Catholicism,” Michael Colaneri of Scranton added.