Ash Wednesday

Today, I woke up early with the kids and we all went to Mass together.  (All of us.  I was outnumbered by three very small people. Surprisingly, however, we did ok.  One hymnal may have lost a page or two, but otherwise, it was a success.)

Disregard my digression.  My point here is this:

This morning, I went to Mass with the kids.  And I am so glad I did.  You see, there is something about Lent that I love, that I have always loved.  I could never say exactly why I loved Lent so much; perhaps because it's when the snow melts and Spring creeps in, or because I really love seafood, or maybe because my birthday almost always falls within Lent, but those reasons were never quite good enough.  I remember telling someone recently that it was because there was something very clean about Lent.  As hard as I tried, I couldn't describe it any further.

Today, Fr. Kevin did it for me. It clicked.  I love Lent because it's when I re-evaluate my life, specifically my interaction with God and with my family and peers.  It's when I take a much-needed break from the very public and very deceiving world of social media.  It's when I clean out the cobwebs of my soul and scrub it clean.  (As clean as I can get it, at least.) He compared it to nurturing a hobby or collection, always cleaning and reorganizing and trying to get it "just right." I can relate to that.  (Might I say how much I adore Fr. Kevin? When we got up to him in line--ALL of us, once for ashes, once for Communion, he was so patient and so kind, and even mouthed "good job," as I herded them back to our seats for the second time. He's truly wonderful.)

And I'm no saint.  The ashes on my forehead today signified that.  They aren't a proclamation of my religion, they are an attestment to my faults. I have judged others, fallen prey to speculation, been short with my family, and not followed through with promises. I have failed 100 times over...and probably just this week, but I know my own heart and I know I try to do good.  I really do.  These next 47 days, I get to try harder.  Not for you, not for me, but for the act of giving alms.  And there is something humbling and refreshing and truly amazing about that.

So, rather than give up anything specifically, this Lent I will focus on the three pillars, the building blocks of this favorite season of mine:

1.) Prayer

2.) Fasting

3.) Almsgiving

(There is something amazing about a good Lenten Fish Fry, too. Prayer and Almsgiving aside, let's not lose sight of the tradition of fried fishy goodness. And cobbler.  Oh, and beer.)