“The Light Is ON” Lenten Campaign Encourages Catholics to Go to Confession

March 10, 2014

HYATTSVILLE, Md. – For the seventh year, the Archdiocese of Washington is partnering with the Diocese of Arlington for “The Light Is ON” initiative in which all Catholic churches in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and Northern Virginia will be open on Wednesday evenings during Lent for confession and quiet prayer.

More than 200 churches will be open on March 12, 19 and 26 as well as April 2, 9 and 16. All Catholics, especially those who have not been actively participating in the life of the Church or the Sacrament of Reconciliation, are invited to experience a renewal of spirit through the gift of confession.

Lent is the 40-day penitential period before Easter and the celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. It was chosen as the time period for the initiative, because it is a season when Catholics place an extra focus on God’s mercy and forgiveness.

“The Light Is ON” campaign, which began in the Archdiocese of Washington in 2007, is an opportunity for the faithful to deepen their relationship with Christ by uniting themselves to God’s merciful love, which absolves Catholics from their faults.

Advertisements for the initiative are running on television and on radio, in Metro and VRE cars and on the sides of Metro buses in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Over 100,000 pew cards with instructions on going to confession have been distributed to parishes in English and Spanish.

For resources on the Sacrament of Reconciliation or to learn more about why Catholics go to confession, visit www.thelightison.org. Visitors will find invitations from Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, and Bishop Paul S. Loverde, bishop of Arlington; an online guide to confession; answers to frequently-asked questions; prayer resources; video testimonies; and links to parish confession times.

The Archdiocese of Washington is home to over 620,000 Catholics, 139 parishes and 96 Catholic schools, located in Washington, DC, and five Maryland counties: Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s.

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