At a Mass celebrated four days before Ash Wednesday, Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory reflected on the upcoming season of Lent and the crisis in Ukraine.

The cardinal’s remarks came during a Mass that he celebrated at St. John Vianney Church in Prince Frederick, Maryland, on Feb. 26, 2022.

Noting that fasting is one of the practices of Lent, the cardinal pointed out how that is different from dieting to lose weight.

“Dieting is motivated by a desire to have a better physical appearance. Fasting is all about the condition of the inner person,” he said in his homily at the Mass. “Dieting is intended to help us look better; fasting is about helping a person to live better. They could not be more different, one from the other.”

Cardinal Gregory noted that works of charity are another cornerstone of Lenten practices, and he praised St. John Vianney parishioners and members of other archdiocesan parishes for their outreach during the pandemic. The St. John Vianney Inter-Faith Food Pantry, supported by a corps of volunteers, continued serving its neighbors in that Calvert County community throughout the pandemic, and that outreach was featured in a cover story last fall in the Catholic Standard newspaper.

“I want to gather with you to thank you in this community and in so many other communities in the archdiocese for your extraordinary goodness throughout these three years of the pandemic, your goodness to your neighbors here and in many other places in the archdiocese, because you have especially seen the needs of your neighbors and cared for those needs,” the cardinal said.

Cardinal Gregory also addressed the crisis in Ukraine following Russia’s military invasion of that country that began days earlier.

“Our hearts are also heavy with dread this weekend at the events that are taking place in Ukraine, where the destruction of war has once again entered our world. That is reason alone for us to increase our prayer, which is another dimension of our Lenten activities,” he said.

The cardinal said this Lent is a time to pray for peace and reconciliation around the world, across this country and in our communities.

“This year, we pray with greater intensity for the restoration of peace in Ukraine, but also here in our own nation that continues to experience heightened violence and destructive divisions – anti-Semitism, racism, hatred, political, religious, racial and social divisions,” he said.

After the Mass, Cardinal Gregory spoke to St. John Vianney parishioners about Black History Month, saying it is important for all Americans to know that history in order to build understanding and respect among this nation’s people. He said the events unfolding in Ukraine, where people’s lives, homes and businesses are being destroyed, show the importance of working for harmony among people.

Noting how hatred and aggression based on racial, ethnic and language differences can blind people, the cardinal said, “This Ash Wednesday, we should increase our prayers for peace, fast for international concord, and work for harmony in our own communities. Take a lesson and learn from such raw animosity that we are witnessing a world away and perhaps too close in our own communities.”