And so begins what has always been, for me, my favorite time of the church calendar: Lent. Even when I was a kid, my soul thrilled to the concept of Lent – the sacrifices, giving stuff up, etc. It seemed very dramatic, and I (surprise surprise) loved drama. Also I loved how the church during Lent was all about purple<\/i>. Purple cloths over the altar, purple, purple … It suited the more melancholy aspect of my personality, even when I was a kid. Something in me always really responded to Lent. (Especially because it had a discernible end. Easter was coming … you only had to be somber and self-sacrificial for the time of Lent … then it would be DONE. Heh heh.)<\/p>\n
Anyway, last year I posted a very cute story from my friend Beth about Ash Wednesday, and I would like to post it again.<\/p>\n
Beth took her two kids, Ceileidh and Conor, to an afternoon mass on Ash Wednesday. They got their ashes put on their forehead. Then they sat back down in the pew.<\/p>\n
Father Creedon’s sermon (Father Creedon is an amazing priest, a great speaker) was about faith and pride – that your faith should not be something you take pride in – that you should not want to SHOW your faith … that you should not be PROUD of the ashes on your forehead … You should approach your faith with humility, without the need to show it off.<\/p>\n
Lovely long impassioned sermon. Beth and her kids listened in silence.<\/p>\n
The sermon ended. The congregation, all ashed up, sat quietly, pondering the lesson.<\/p>\n
And Conor then leaned over to Beth and whispered, “Mom, next year – can we go to the morning mass – so I can wear my ashes to school?”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
And so begins what has always been, for me, my favorite time of the church calendar: Lent. Even when I was a kid, my soul thrilled to the concept of Lent – the sacrifices, giving stuff up, etc. It seemed … Continue reading