WORCESTER, Mass. - Valentine's Day, with its chocolates and candy-filled celebration, may have posed a challenge for some, as it coincided with Ash Wednesday.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the holy season of Lent for Christians, and a day where Catholics may practice fasting and abstinence.

Dozens attended the noon mass at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Worcester. Bishop Robert McManus said the purpose of lent is to prepare for the feast of Easter, and there are three disciplines Christians follow during the 40 days of Lent.

"We pray more, eat and drink less and help people less fortunate than ourselves - those are the three disciplines of Lent,” McManus said. “By doing that, we enter more deeply into love. The crucifixion, death and resurrection of Christ is the greatest demonstration of love human kinds have seen."

Of Valentine's Day, McManus said Saint Valentine was a bishop known for his great devotion the poor and sick., and his life was spent demonstrating love for his neighbors and God.