Ash Wednesday 2012

Ash Wednesday is a Universal day of Fasting and Abstinence.
Fasting = one less meal (or 2 smaller meals that combined do not equal the main meal)
Abstinence = not eating meat (Beef, Pork, Chicken, lamb, etc.)
We begin our Lenten Journey by being marked with ashes, usually in the form of a cross on our forehead.  A symbol of both life and death, of hope and mortality.
And we take up the 3 practices of Lent: Prayer, Fasting and Alms Giving (donations).
I am not sure how it is that I can get up and go about things on a regular day and not even think about Lunch until after 3 o'clock, but on Ash Wednesday - when I have to fast - I am hungry by 10:30!

What could possibly take priority over deepening our
relationship with God? “Now is the time,” St. Paul insists (2 Corinthians 6:2). He repeats for emphasis: Don’t put this on hold or wait for a more convenient break in the calendar.
Now is the time to act, to do what Christians have done for centuries. Let’s take advantage of the fact that a whole season, honored by a large community, is set aside to do what we know we should be doing anyway. Some people “get religion” with fear when they hear a diagnosis of terminal illness, or with gratitude when they emerge unscathed from an accident. Today’s readings urge us to turn to the God of all goodness simply from love, not from any lesser motive.


Rita Ferrone is a friend of mine who lives in New York City (part of that Chicago 6 group that worked together in 2002) and she has written a wonderful resource for Lent which you can download and print here (and there is a similar resource for Teens here). 


Peace