Bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento, Jaime Soto, was scheduled to give the Ash Wednesday Mass in Hinde Auditorium today, but did not make an appearance.

Father James Doogan, the director of the Newman Catholic Community at Sacramento State, spoke in the Bishop’s place.

After the sermon, Doogan said the event did not make it onto Soto’s calendar due to miscommunication about which date Soto was scheduled to visit on. Since Soto visited the university last year, he was excited about having the chance to visit again and was disappointed when he could not, Doogan said.

Since Soto could not deliver the sermon, Doogan, who was already attending the service, had to ad-lib.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of the Catholic practice of Lent. During the 40 days of Lent, Christians fast until Easter Sunday as a symbolic preparation for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For Lent, the method of fasting is to have one large meal in the evening, after two very small meals earlier in the day. 

He spoke about Lent being a time of humility and sacrifice for Christians. To properly maintain the spirit of Lent, Doogan said one must not boast about any sacrifices made during the 40 days.

As a method of appealing to the full auditorium of students, of which a good portion was bilingual, Doogan’s fluency allowed him to weave both Spanish and English into both his sermon and communion. The music played throughout the service was sung in both Spanish and English, as well.