For Elizabeth Delgadillo, an 18-year-old Santa Ana College student, attending Mass on Ash Wednesday has been a family tradition since childhood. Now returning to the Catholic faith on her own terms, she said she is learning to rebuild her relationship with God.
“I’m trying to find my own way to be with God,” she said Wednesday, following the morning service at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Santa Ana, where she joined parishioners in marking the start of the solemn season of Lent.
Diego Menjivar receives the sign of the cross during Ash Wednesday Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) Parishioners pray during Ash Wednesday Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) Parishioners receive the sign of the cross from Minister Adolfo Cervantes, right, and Fr. Almando Virrey during Ash Wednesday Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) A beam of window light hits Graciela Pena as she prays during Ash Wednesday Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) Parishioners observe Ash Wednesday Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) Fr. Almando Virrey leads Ash Wednesday Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) A parishioner receives the sign of the cross during Ash Wednesday Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 7Diego Menjivar receives the sign of the cross during Ash Wednesday Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) ExpandFor those of the Christian faith — including Catholics, evangelicals and other denominations — the ritual of wearing ashes on one’s forehead symbolizes the dust from which God is believed to have created man. It is an outward sign of repentance.
Ash Wednesday starts the 40-day period of spiritual introspection leading up to Easter.
Delgadillo said she views faith as a way of connecting people across generations and cultures, especially at a time when many of her peers are experiencing isolation and drifting away from belief. For her, the church offers a bridge to community through shared faith, she said.
She sees Lent as an opportunity to “let go” and reflect, she said, treating her growing relationship with faith as a chance for self-improvement and growth.
“Sometimes faith separates people, but here it brings everyone together,” she said. “They come to pray for anyone that needs the prayer.”
Hugo Jasso, 44, considers Lent as his opportunity to look inward, he said. To reflect on his spiritual life, reconnect with Jesus and return to the teachings that call him to love, forgive and accept others.
“Obviously, there are people who have hurt us,” Jasso, a Santa Ana resident, said in Spanish.
Growing up in Mexico, discipline often came in the form of punishment rather than conversation, he said. “Many people grow up with resentment because of that.”
A few years ago, Jasso said he began going to church. Through prayer and reflection, he said, he learned how to heal that resentment.
“When you let go of that resentment, it’s like saying, ‘I’m no longer going to be upset about this,’” Jasso added.
After having spent the morning delivering Mass and communion, Father Armando Virrey described Ash Wednesday as both a ceremonial and deeply personal preparation for Easter and the passage into eternal life.
“As Catholics, this is a time to avoid superficiality and an unfocused life,” Virrey said in Spanish. “Personally, it means giving more time to the things of God. To prayer, meditation, mercy, practicing works of charity with others, and giving up things that distract us from our center, which is our faith.”
Virrey said that when people live separated from the essentials that tie them to their faith, they begin to focus on what he calls “worldly things.”
“We fill ourselves with unnecessary things that weigh us down,” he said. “It is necessary to leave those behind to follow Christ with a more (faithful) heart, better prepared to be with him in his passion, death and resurrection.”
Virrey added that Lent also calls on the faithful to stand in solidarity with brothers and sisters who suffer. A sign inside the church had a statement of prayer and support for all migrants.
“One of the three pillars of Lent — prayer, fasting and works of charity — calls us to stand with those who suffer, the needy, those who lack what is necessary to live with dignity, and also those who lack justice or support, immigrants who suffer,” Virrey said. “We must be in solidarity not only with those who lack material bread, but also offer them the charity of our prayer.”
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