2007 Lent

Wow,
Here we are two days into Lent. I am just getting back to work after a pretty severe cold (sure felt like the flu!).  It was the first time in decades that I was not at Mass for Ash Wednesday, however in my Parish, if you can't make it, they will come to you.

So there, in my living room (in my jammies) I heard those ancient words:

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.

Why do I do this? Why did I want the Church to come to my home and impose ashes? Couldn't I just have skipped it?  Well yes, I could have, but you know there are meanings to the physical things we do.

So then, here it is, and even illness did not keep me from the physical act of worship the larger question remains.  "How will I follow Jesus, as He spends forty days in the wilderness"?

I haven't been able to focus my mind this week, but my daily Rosary for my "Seven Angels", weekly attendance at Mass, Prayer and acts for returning soldiers, and a surprise gift of a book from a co-worker will be the basis of my journey this Lent.

Therefore before my Parish community and this blog community, I commit to the observance of a holy Lent. And once again, the flow of the Church Year continues - from Ashes to Easter, from death to Life.

The ashes in my living room are to me a sign of my mortality and (hopefully) penitence, but they are also a reminder that only by His gracious Gift that everlasting Life is promised anew; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.
Remember, human, that you are dust, and to dust you will return
--Genesis 3:19

Comments

[joy]

wow is right I can definitely relate to asking yourself why you want the ashes.