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Before Wednesday, Samuella Assi had never attended Catholic mass. She grew up Protestant, but Ash Wednesday brought her to the altar.”Today I was like, ‘You know what? Maybe I should just go to mass and see how it feels, how much I like it,” Assi said.Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, a period of 40 days leading up to Easter. “Lent is ideally a little bit less about giving stuff up and a little bit more about taking a deep breath and a look at your life and saying, ‘What’s going well?'” said an associate theology professor at College of Saint Mary, Emily Kahm.This year, Lent overlaps with Ramadan, which is a month of fasting in the religion of Islam.”They do that to recognize there’s suffering in the world and recognize how great have it,” said Renee Franklin, executive director of Tri-Faith Institute.The two months haven’t overlapped since 1863 and won’t converge again until 2189, making this a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. The two religions differ, but there are many similarities, including reflection, willful suffering, duration and fasting. Franklin said this is a time to learn about each other. “We can have interfaith dialogues,” Franklin said. “We have opportunities to learn from each other’s experiences.””What else is going on around here? What people have I not met? What issues have I not thought about? There’s something we absolutely encourage for Lent and for really any time,” Kahm said.Assi is trying to find a place that sparks her faith.”I was just trying to find where I belong. Looking at Protestant, at Catholic and which one reaches out to me more?” Assi said. She hasn’t made a decision yet, but Assi is reflecting on what’s right for her. You can experience Lent through local church fish fries and weekly mass, and Tri-Faith Institute welcomes anyone to attend iftar, the meal that breaks the fast, on Saturdays. They just ask that you let the American Muslim Institute know ahead of time.Related Coverage: KETV 2026 Lenten fish fry guideMake sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
Before Wednesday, Samuella Assi had never attended Catholic mass. She grew up Protestant, but Ash Wednesday brought her to the altar.
“Today I was like, ‘You know what? Maybe I should just go to mass and see how it feels, how much I like it,” Assi said.
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Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, a period of 40 days leading up to Easter.
“Lent is ideally a little bit less about giving stuff up and a little bit more about taking a deep breath and a look at your life and saying, ‘What’s going well?'” said an associate theology professor at College of Saint Mary, Emily Kahm.
This year, Lent overlaps with Ramadan, which is a month of fasting in the religion of Islam.
“They do that to recognize there’s suffering in the world and recognize how great [some people] have it,” said Renee Franklin, executive director of Tri-Faith Institute.
The two months haven’t overlapped since 1863 and won’t converge again until 2189, making this a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. The two religions differ, but there are many similarities, including reflection, willful suffering, duration and fasting. Franklin said this is a time to learn about each other.
“We can have interfaith dialogues,” Franklin said. “We have opportunities to learn from each other’s experiences.”
“What else is going on around here? What people have I not met? What issues have I not thought about? There’s something we absolutely encourage for Lent and for really any time,” Kahm said.
Assi is trying to find a place that sparks her faith.
“I was just trying to find where I belong. Looking at Protestant, at Catholic and which one reaches out to me more?” Assi said.
She hasn’t made a decision yet, but Assi is reflecting on what’s right for her. You can experience Lent through local church fish fries and weekly mass, and Tri-Faith Institute welcomes anyone to attend iftar, the meal that breaks the fast, on Saturdays. They just ask that you let the American Muslim Institute know ahead of time.
Related Coverage: KETV 2026 Lenten fish fry guide
Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.
NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
