A Co Monaghan priest has called for 'meditation and contemplation' as the Lenten season begins.
Fr Stephen Duffy was speaking to Shannonside Northernsound this afternoon as people gathered all over the region to mark Ash Wednesday and the administration of ashes.
He said Lent is a great time to reset ourselves and provides an opportunity to "rethink, break old habits, and begin a new".
Meanwhile, he added, the situation in Ukraine highlighted clearly how troubled the world was, and the need now for people to look inwardly.
"It is very saddening and disturbing that a country like Russia under Vladimir Putin just coming out of a pandemic where so many people died, is doing this," Fr Duffy continued.
"And now here we are facing into a dangerous, dangerous period in the European continent's history."
