Altar servers stand at the front of the church during the March 5 Ash Wednesday 12:05 p.m. Mass at St. Stephen Cathedral in Owensboro. RILEY GRIEF | WKC
‘What can be healed this Lent?’ asks bishop at Ash Wednesday liturgy
BY ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
At the crowded 12:05 p.m. Mass for Ash Wednesday at St. Stephen Cathedral on March 5, Bishop William F. Medley reflected back to the 2021 tornados that tore across western Kentucky.
In addition to lives lost and homes destroyed, “the earth itself seemed to be disfigured,” he said, describing massive trees torn out at the roots.
Bishop Medley recalled that in spring 2022, despite all that had happened, nature began to heal and grow back. Likewise, Lent is a time for healing and flourishing in God’s life, the bishop said.
“As we make resolutions of how we will live these 40 days of Lent, what ‘disfigurement’ will begin to heal, in harmony with Christ and the Church?” he asked. “What about my inner life can be transformed as the earth is being transformed?”
Bishop William F. Medley gives the homily during the March 5 Ash Wednesday 12:05 p.m. Mass at St. Stephen Cathedral in Owensboro. RILEY GRIEF | WKC
Dcn. Conrad Jaconette, a seminarian of the Diocese of Owensboro, distributes ashes to Sidney Booth and baby Vincent at the 12:05 p.m. Ash Wednesday Mass at St. Stephen Cathedral on March 5. RILEY GRIEF | WKC
Originally printed in the April 2025 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
