Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent, a 40-day period for penance leading up to Easter Sunday.
Thousands of local Catholics are observing the season of Lent, and they are remembering Christians overseas who are suffering in many parts of the world, most recently at the hands of ISIS in Egypt.
For Christians — both Protestant and Catholic — this year's religious holiday comes at a time of deep worry and concern, with those of faith being murdered for their beliefs.
"We still have people of faith … persecuted and even killed ... as a consequence of the fact that they have faith in God," Archbishop Jose Gomez of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles said.
The recent mass beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians kidnapped in Libya, among scores of other atrocities, have been carried out against people of all faiths — Christians, Jews, Muslims — in the name of "God."
These incidents add a particular meaning to this year's Ash Wednesday.
"We need to pray more for religious freedom and keep working and showing others that our faith is a faith of peace," Gomez added.
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Gomez and the parishioners at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels have pledged to make a personal effort during Lent to offer light and hope wherever they can. They'll leave the rest up to policy makers.
