HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Today is Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of the lent season for many Christians worldwide. 

What You Need To Know

  •  Today is Ash Wednesday 

  •  This day marks the beginning of lent season, a 40-day journey of prayer, fasting and almsgiving  

  •  Catholic Churches across the country will be holding mass services to commemorate the lent season 

The lent season is a 40-day journey consisting of the three pillars of lent: prayer, fasting and almsgiving, to strengthen one's relationship with God. 

This season recalls the time Jesus spent in the desert, where he prayed and fasted 40 days before his death. 

Catholic Churches and schools across North Carolina will begin lent by holding Ash Wednesday mass services.  

Father Aaron Huber is a priest at Saint Mark Catholic Church in Huntersville. He assists with weekend mass services. 

Huber also serves as chaplain for Christ The King Catholic High School. 

"Everything I get to do is being an instrument of God's love and mercy," Huber said. "Good times and bad, sickness and in health, we're always able to be that instrument for everybody. At Christ The King Catholic High School, I get to be there with the students. These are very formative times and Catholic education in this world is vital. Being able to have a priest on campus, to be there and support as they're striving to grow to become good Catholic men and women in their society has been wonderful for me."

Huber will be at the high school for Ash Wednesday All School Mass. 

"Being at the school is very meaningful to me, to be able to see all these young men and women in the Catholic faith participating in this, reigniting this desire to give up everything like the disciples did to follow our Lord," Huber said.

Huber is one of many in the Catholic faith who's been preparing for lent. 

"There's a lot of things we have to consider when we're setting up for an Ash Wednesday mass, beginning early on with the spiritual preparation of what it means to actually prepare yourself for lent," Huber said.

As part of lent, Huber says people will be participating in actions that grow them closer to Jesus and his experiences, in preparation to celebrate his resurrection come Easter. 

"Make space for our lord and our souls, by [giving up] these pleasures," Huber said "These pleasures are not necessarily bad, people give up different foods or drinks during lent, to gain clarity and occasion of grace for the lord to reveal himself to us in a deeper way with having these distractions pulled aside." 

Huber says it's important to remember the reason for Lent. 

"After blessing them during mass, [we take the ashes] and rub them on the forehead in the shape of a cross," Huber said. "We say 'remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.' The ashes that are sprinkled on our heads are the ashes that are burned from Palm Sunday of last year. This serves as a reminder that we're going to become face-to-face with God. At some point, we have to recall the reality of the goodness that we're striving for, the perfection that is God. So Ash Wednesday kicks off lent as a way of reminding us that we are just dust, and we will return as dust, but that's not the final story. We undertake these penances of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. When we strip ourselves of these distractions, we're [allowing things to unveil so] God can bestow his richness upon us. So as we undergo these spiritual practices, we're preparing for the joys of Easter," Huber said. 

Huber says all are welcome to participate in Saint Mark's Ash Wednesday mass services. 

"I would love to see you at Saint Mark on Ash Wednesday," Huber said. "Everyone is invited to receive ashes and participate in the service. We welcome everybody so we can experience this truth, goodness and beauty and embark on this journey of lent together." 

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