Ash Wednesday

For many of us, myself included, Lent, is sometimes viewed as an inconvenience.  After all, there is the inconvenience of not eating meat on Ash Wednesday, all of the Friday's of Lent, and of course, you would not think of eating meat on Good Friday.  There is the requirement of fasting.  There is nothing crabbier on this earth than Michael The Lesser when he is hungry.  Luckily, due to my advanced age, I am exempt from fasting. Lent can be very inconvenient indeed.  I remember once when I was a child, about ten years old I would say, my father, took me to the Chicago Auto Show.  We looked at all of the cars and trucks and were amazed at all of the new features that were coming out. Could cars get any more modern?  Well, the time came to have a little snack.  My father, knowing my love of hot dogs bought me a Vienna Weiner - they are about the best hot dog you can get.  It came with all of the trimmings including hot peppers. I took a big bite of the hot dog, enjoying its steamy goodness, the soft steamed bun, the bite of the hot pepper, the taste of the mustard and relish all combined and made me think that this was what heaven had to be like!  As I swallowed that first bite my father, who did not practice any religion, reminded me it was Friday and that I was eating meat. He laughed.  I ran, not walked, to the nearest garbage can and spit the crumbs still in my mouth out and threw the rest of the sandwich into the trash.  My father thought it was hilarious! I was serious about my religion at age ten. So, that is one time when Lent was most inconvenient for me.  I no longer see Lent as an inconvenience, at least most of the time.  I see it as a chance to go on a journey, to walk next to Jesus.  To walk arm in arm with Him as he leads me through the desert of my life.  As we walk he points out improvements I can make and things that I should notice. And all through this journey with Jesus, I am carrying ashes with me. 

Ashes, what a strange thing to use at the start of a journey.  After all, ashes are really not good for a whole lot. As a matter of fact, they are what is left over when something has been completely consumed. Ashes are dirty, they get into everything. They change what was white into something that is gray or even black.  Ashes, why should we carry dirty ashes upon a journey?  And more than that, why should we carry ashes along with us on this most important of journeys?  The ashes we receive on this holy day are a reminder that we too are little more than ashes ourselves. We are reminded that God created us out of the dust and that someday our earthly body will return to dust. When we think of this we should really examine our lives. We brought nothing into this world and we will take nothing out of it. We busy ourselves with the things we think we need. The ashes we receive on this first day of Lent remind us not to value so much the things that decay. It is true, that we need some basic things to stay alive in this world.  We need food, but do we eat too much?  We need water but do we waste this precious commodity?  We need a place to keep ourselves warm but do we need to make a statement by having much more room than we need? We need clothing, but how much do we need? You see, everything that we consider a need is matter and it decays.  The stuff of earth is around just for a little while and then it is gone.  We fight and scramble for the things of this world and when we die, someone else gets all of the things we considered our treasure. Ashes, useless, dry, dirty and dusty ashes serve as a reminder of where we have been and where we are going.  So it is good that we start this Lenten journey with ashes on our forehead.  Maybe we should move those ashes from our forehead to our heart.

Where Have All The Ashes Gone?

Yesterday I had the honor of singing at 7:00 PM Mass and I have to tell you that the church was packed. All of us were at the very start of our yearly Lenten pilgrimage. For some of us it will be just a few weeks of trying to remember not to eat meat on Friday.  For some of us it will be a real growing experience.  But for one day anyway we were united.  Our foreheads were marked with the sign of the cross and everyone who care to look could say; "There goes one of those Catholics."  Today, the ashes have disappeared and we have become more or less anonymous, undercover, Catholic Christians again. 

It is okay to anonymous provided we take the time to do what we need to do to fulfill our duties as ambassadors of Christ.  As a matter of fact, the reading yesterday said we should not let the left hand know what the right hand is doing when we are doing something good for our neighbors.  So remain anonymous if you want to but do small acts of charity with great love and the beauty of God will shine through your deeds and maybe, just maybe, one of the people you share a kindness with will start to think more about their neighbors, about God, about prayer. 

But don't spend all of your energy on others,  Lent is also a time for you to get in contact with yourself and to deeply think about how God sees you.  It does not matter what the world thinks of you.  All of those in the world (you and me included) will someday pass away.  When we do we will stand before God and he will greet us as a friend or as a judge.  

When I was a child, lent was all about fish sticks and the stations of the cross.  I did not really like either of these things. Going to a Catholic school meant that meatless Friday's were rigidly enforced by the good sisters.  Lunch on Lenten Fridays usually consisted of two fish sticks, a lump of US Government cheese and a peach floating in heavy syrup.  After lunch around two in the afternoon we would silently march next door to the church.  We would endure forty minutes of the Stations of the Cross, standing, genuflecting, listening, and kneeling.  That is all Lent meant to me. 

Today I am happy for two things: First I am an adult and I do not have to eat fish sticks ! ! !  Secondly, I can use these precious forty days to become closer to Jesus.  I can use it to improve myself, and to be of service to the world around me. 

I suggest that you do not give up anything for lent. I suggest that you look for positive ways to grow your soul.  Remember what Mother Teresa of Calcutta said; "Do small things with great love."

God bless you on this second day of Lent.  Waste not a moment. Use this precious season to build yourself up so you can stand firm in the Faith.   

Ashes to Ashes - Dust to Dust

Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of our forty day journey with Jesus in the desert.  When I was a boy the only thing I thought of on this day was that now on Friday's we would be having fish for dinner.  Fish normally consisted of either Mom's Tuna Fish Salad or the dreaded fish sticks. Some days during Lent we got a double whammy, at school we would be given fish sticks for lunch with a dry lump of U.S. Government cheese, coleslaw and a cup with a peach in heavy syrup in a cup. There was a reason God made fish the way He did, you know, fish shaped, that was to remind you that fish were meant to fish shaped and should be eaten fresh and never carved into sticks.  But that's in the past and today I never have to eat fish sticks. Not eating meat on Friday was really ingrained into us those days. One year my father took us to see the Chicago Auto Show on a Lenten Friday.  We stopped for a snack and he bought me a hot dog. I had taken a bite of it and before I could swallow it he mentioned that it was Friday.  It meant nothing to him, he did not follow the faith even though he was a baptized Catholic.  I excused myself and spat the mouthful of David Berg Kosher hot dog and bun into the garbage can and followed that up with by fling the reset of the hot dog.  My father laughed at my antics and shook his head as he took a bite of his hot dog.  By the end of the night I was a bit hungry and even a fish stick would have tasted good, everything tastes good when you season it with enough ketchup. 

Our journey with Jesus is one that takes us into the desert. It is a time that we can spend reviewing our life, working out what we need to change to become ever better followers of Jesus.  Why the desert?  The desert is a place like no other. It  is desolate, you can go a long time without seeing another person.  The only sounds you will hear is the howl of the wind. You will be utterly alone without any distractions. There will be no one there to flatter you or criticize you.  It will just be you.  The solitude will allow you to focus on yourself and your relationship with God.  That what Lent is all about. It would be a wrong to classify it merely as spring cleaning, because it it much more than that.  The desert, a place where you can begin to see yourself as God sees you.  

So as we step out of our comfort zone and begin to take some time to learn about ourselves and become closer to Christ let us resolve to make this Lenten journey the best one we have ever had. 

LET ME SING OF YOUR WONDERFUL NAME
LET MY LIPS TELL THE JOY OF YOUR LOVE.
THE HEAVENS PROCLAIMING THE GLORY OF GOD
AND YET NO SOUND CAN BE HEARD
THE WORLD IN IT STILLNESS ARE WRAPPED IN YOU SILENCE
NOW FATHER GIVE US YOUR WORD!
LET ME SING OF YOUR WONDERFUL NAME
LET MY LIPS TELL THE JOY OF YOUR LOVE.