Ash Wednesday

This Wednesday we begin the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday. Again, we say that this year things will be a little bit different for us here. Because of school being in session, we will have limited space for the 7:30 am Mass and the 12:00 Mass which is why we added the 7:30 this year. Another change for us in the United States is the way that the distribution of the ashes will happen. We will be doing it in an ancient way, and also the way that it happens in most of Europe currently. Instead of putting the ashes on the forehead, they will be sprinkled on top of the head, this is to limit the touching of people. I was talking to Fr. James about this and he mentioned that the people in Italy think it is strange the way that we do it, since the sprinkling of the ashes on top of the head is taken from the bible in which those who are mourning or repenting will sprinkle ashes on their heads, see Jonah, Ester, Samuel, Daniel, etc. Ash Wednesday is far more than just the symbol of ashes on our foreheads, but it is about the call for us to repent of our sins. I do not mean this in a judgmental way, but in the way that calls us to see those ways in which we fail to follow where the Lord is trying to lead us. During the Lenten season, we are called to focus on three aspects of our faith life: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Even though we tend to focus more on the fasting aspect of the Lenten season, we are called to work on all three. One of the things that I really like about Lent is that it gives us an opportunity to look at our lives. We most often give something up for Lent and sometimes the temptation to “cheat” is great, remember it is not a sin to do what we have promised to give up. I remind people this every year, that the thing we give up is a penance for us and not for others! We should not sacrifice something if we are going to be cranky and complain about it all of the time. Our sacrifice should not be a sacrifice for others, but for ourselves. We live in a self-indulgent and disposable society. We are being conditioned to consume, to buy more (even if you cannot afford it), and when it does not make you happy or gets old, throw it away. We are often told through advertising that we NEED the newest and greatest thing out there, but the newest and greatest thing changes right after you purchase it. The whole idea behind fasting from something for Lent is so that whenever we reach for, or are tempted by, the thing that we have given up, we should be reminded that we do have some self-control and that we should use it, not only in the fasting, but also to have the self-control to not sin. Take some time this Lenten season to focus on all three aspects, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving and have a blessed Lent.

God bless,
Fr. Ken