Lent 2026

This page contains the scheduled activities for the Lenten season starting with Ash Wednesday and ending with Holy Week as well as resources to strengthen your spiritual commitment during this time.

Scroll down or click on one of the following links for more information.

Ash Wednesday

While Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation, it is still an important day in the Church calendar as it marks the start of Lent and our season of sacrifice and spiritual preparation to joyously celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. This year, Masses will be celebrated, and ashes distributed, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, during all Masses listed below.

Please make a concerted effort to attend one of these Masses to prepare yourself for the season. Confession and Adoration are suspended due to Ash Wednesday Masses.

Lenten Fasting and Abstinence Requirements

For more information on fasting during Lent, visit the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop’s website at http://j.mp/2UE6ubX.

Liturgy of the Hours

We invite you to join us in praying the Liturgy of the Hours during Lent. Download the app “IBreviary” for free and you will find all the prayers there. The book “Shorter Christian Prayer” is also available in bookstores should you want a paper book. The parish will have some books for use in church. Below are the times for Liturgy of the Hours starting Thursday, February 19, 2026.

  • 8:00am-8:15am Monday through Saturday–Morning Prayer
    • Holy Thursday will be the last morning

Divine Mercy Sunday & Novena

The Octave Day of Easter, or the Sunday after Easter, is Divine Mercy Sunday. Saint John Paul II established Divine Mercy Sunday as a feast day for the entire Church in 2000. Just as we prepare for Easter during Lent, we should also prepare for Divine Mercy Sunday, April 12, 2026, especially by doing works of mercy. This day, chosen by Christ, is a day of extraordinary graces—a complete outpouring of His mercy upon all who approach Him with great trust and expectant faith.   

Jesus promised St. Faustina that anyone who would receive Holy Communion in the state of grace on the Sunday after Easer would, “obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment” (Diary 699). That means not only forgiveness of our sins but also the remission of the temporal punishment due to sin.

The Divine Mercy Novena schedule will be posted below by the end of March.

In preparation for Divine Sunday, our Divine Mercy Cenacle members have generously volunteered to lead the praying of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy during the nine-day Novena beginning on Good Friday, April 3, 2026 and end with a special Holy Hour on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 12th, at 5:00pm.

Come join us in praising and thanking God for his unfathomable mercy. Given the liturgical schedule, it won’t be prayed the same time every day so the schedule will be posted below soon for the Novena.

For those who cannot attend the novena, a daily parish email will be sent to those signed up for Father Scalia’s parish emails.

Read below on how you can receive the Graces of Divine Mercy Sunday.

Lenten Retreat

This year we will have one Lenten Retreat for the entire parish on Saturday, February 28, 2026, 8:30am-3:30pm in Monsignor Heller Hall. Registration is required. To RSVP for this Lenten retreat, visit bit.ly/LentenRetreat2026 with Fr. Mark Yavarone, OMV, or scan the QR code. If you have any problems with the link, email [email protected].

The fee for the day is $50, which includes breakfast and lunch.

If you should have any questions about the Lenten Retreat, contact the pastor’s assistant Susan Ramsel at [email protected]. Please write “Lenten Retreat” on checks and online payments.

Pastor’s Lenten Appeal

Lent is a time to grow closer to Christ through prayer, fasting, and Almsgiving. To help guide you, Father Scalia has created the “Pastor’s Lenten Appeal”.  He has given suggestions on how to know, love, and serve Christ more deeply this Lent. Print this guide for your use.

Below the Pastor’s Lenten Appeal for 2026. Please note, the links in the picture will not be clickable. Click here to download the PDF file that will allow you to access the links in the picture below.

Holy Week 2026 Schedule

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Holy Week will have our normal 6:30am, 8:15am, and noon Masses.

You will be able to download a printable version of Holy Week here very soon.

Confession Schedule during Holy Week

Tenebrae

Stations of the Cross (English) and Via Crucis (Spanish)

Stations of the Cross on Good Friday will be at Noon. For Spanish, Via Crucis will begin at 5:00pm, a living Stations of the Cross through the neighborhood.

Blessing of the Easter Baskets

Lenten Confessions

To see our other confession times, click here.

Just a reminder that The Light Is on Confessions continues Wednesday evenings during Lent. The initiative is a partnership with the Diocese of Arlington and the Archdiocese of Washington to encourage the Sacrament of Confession by offering additional hours during Lent. On Wednesdays, Confessions will continue to be offered 6:30pm-8:00pm starting February 25, 2026. To see our regular confession schedule, click here.

To download Confession resources, visit https://thelightison.org.

See Holy Week schedule on this page for the Confessions schedule during Holy Week.

Parking for Holy Week

If you park on the church side of Park Avenue, please be aware of our Parish House driveway at 913 Park Avenue. The driveway is to the right of the wooden ramp entrance to the Parish House. Make sure that your car is not parked too close to the Parish House driveway entrance. 

For Easter weekend we have five lots available for church parking:

  • A Lot
  • B Lot
  • C Lot
  • Parish House Lot
  • Founders Row Top Level Garage—Located to the right of the Parish House, Founders Row has reserved space for us Sunday mornings only until 1:00pm for parishioners.

Visit stjamescatholic.org/home-2/registration-boundaries/#parking.

Stations of the Cross

Stations will be held every Friday during Lent, starting February 20, 2026, through March 27, 2026. On Good Friday, Stations will be held earlier. Click here to learn more about the Stations.

  • Spanish
    • 6:00pm-7:00pm starting February 20, 2026, through March 27, 2026
    • 5:00pm Good Friday, April 3, 2026, Via Crucis
  • English
    • 7:30pm-8:30pm starting February 20, 2026, through March 27, 2026
    • 12:00pm-1:00pm Good Friday, April 3, 2026