DORCHESTER -- Beginning the solemn season of Lent on Ash Wednesday, March 5, Archbishop Richard G. Henning celebrated the first of his three public Masses of the day for the 1,500 students of Boston College High School in Dorchester.

The archbishop was also scheduled to celebrate Mass at St. Francis Chapel in the Prudential Center at midday and at St. Tarcisius Parish in Framingham that evening.

In remarks before his Mass at BC High, Archbishop Henning said that he has met many graduates of the school in his travels throughout the archdiocese in recent months.

"They are men of integrity, of hard work and discipline and great intelligence," he said. "They are also men of family and of faith and of community. And so I can say that your reputation precedes you. I have seen the quality of the men formed here in this place. And so, I consider it a great privilege and a gift to be with you today, particularly on this very solemn day of Ash Wednesday."

In his homily, Archbishop Henning reflected on the phrase once said at papal coronations: "Sic transit gloria mundi" (Latin for "Thus passes the glory of the world"). He said that Christ himself did not come in glory, but was born and lived in poverty. He rejected worldly power and splendor, and the crowd that hailed him when he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday became the crowd that jeered him on Good Friday.

"What Jesus teaches us in every chapter of the Gospel is that if we want to understand what glory means when we speak of God's glory, then we have to understand its link to what we see on the cross," the archbishop said. "For that is the moment when Jesus is lifted up. Jesus himself is the glory of God."

He told the BC High student body that God has made them for glory, and that, to attain it, they must imitate Christ through selfless giving to the people around them.

"This is not a glory that passes away," he said. "It is a glory that still draws us here in this Holy Mass 2,000 years later. For we remember the gift of God in his beloved son. We remember the Lord Jesus's healing ministry, his life-giving power. We remember his love and care for us, and we touch here at this altar that same mystery of the cross, because it is his words that we speak here."

During the Lenten season, Catholics are particularly called to practice the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. In his Lenten message, issued March 4, the archbishop urged support of Catholic Charities of Boston.

"Even as we give glory to our Loving God, we recall also the Lord's command to love as we have been loved," Archbishop Henning said.

"Your contribution will support the many and varied ministries of Catholic Charities and bring hope and help to those in need. This is an excellent way to practice the Lord's call to compassion and solidarity and I ask that we be as generous as possible," he said.