#ash wednesday
Fat Tuesday kind of got extended to Fat Four Day Weekend before Ash Wednesday, oops
DRIVE-THRU: Church in rural Ireland offers drive-through blessings for Ash Wednesday. http://abcn.ws/2le2Wwt
March 2nd is…
Ash Wednesday - Signals the beginning of Lenten season for Christians. It takes place 46 days before Easter and the day after Shrove Tuesday. Those who celebrate Ash Wednesday reflect, fast, repent and celebrate. The ashes represent death and repentance and Ash Wednesday services focus on both. In many churches, the ashes are made from the palm branches that are burned from the previous Palm Sunday service. Following a service or mass, the pastor or priest will invite their congregation to receive the ashes on their forehead. A cross pattern or other similar mark is made. This solemn day begins a time of meditation, reflection, self-examination, study, and contemplation when Christians consider their own mortality and sinfulness in preparation for Easter.
Banana Cream Pie Day - The traditional custard pie was modified into a recipe that resulted in the appetizing and flavorful banana cream pie. Dating back to the 19th century, banana cream pie found its way into recipe books. Today, recipes fill cookbooks and flood the internet for this yummy pie. In the 1950s, soldiers of the United States Armed Services ranked the banana cream pie as one of their favorites.
Dr Seuss Day - Theodor Seuss Geisel, commonly known by his pen name Dr. Seuss, was a writer, poet and cartoonist. Though best known as a children’s author (he released a whopping forty-six books for tykes), his career also saw him work as an illustrator for advertising campaigns and a political cartoonist during the Second World War. He was also a true perfectionist, known to discard 95% of his material before settling on a theme for a new book, sometimes spending up to a year writing a single story, and preferring payment upon completion, rather than in advance. March 2nd is a celebration of his life and works, as it was on this day in 1904 that he entered the world. Having lived eighty-seven years and made an incredible impact on numerous generations, he died in 1991 at his home in La Jolla, California. His many bizarre, colorful and zany tales are still cherished by young and old alike
Old Stuff Day - A day to break out of the old routines and experience new ones.
We have all heard the saying, “same old, same old.” Well, this is the day to do things differently. There is no limit to how you can change up your day.Read Across America Day - This motivational and awareness day calls all children and youth in every community across the United States to celebrate reading. It encourages them to read where ever they are.
World Teen Mental Wellness Day - According to the American Psychological Association, Gen Z has the worst mental health of any generation. However, teens are dedicated to making a difference. According to YPulse, 64 percent of Gen Z say they want to achieve a healthier lifestyle for overall happiness, including a stronger self-care routine. Also, 94 percent consider mental health very important to their well-being. Ultimately, raising awareness about mental health and the importance of self-care can help improve an entire generation’s mental wellness.
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Ash Wednesday derives its name from the placing of repentance ashes on the foreheads of participants to either the words “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” or the dictum “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” On Ash Wednesday, we display the twin symbols — dust and the sign of the cross — like badges of honor. The imposition of ashes — of dust — is a reminder of our death. It is a symbol of sorrow for our sins.
Lent is a 40-day season that precedes Easter in many Christian denominations. In Western churches, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (in 2021 falling on February 17) and runs until Easter (this year on April 4), a period of six and a half weeks, and the Sundays are not counted as part of the 40 days.
Also, on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all Fridays during Lent, adult Catholics over the age of 14 abstain from eating meat. During these days, it is not acceptable to eat lamb, chicken, beef, pork, ham, deer and most other meats. However, eggs, milk, fish, grains, and fruits and vegetables are all allowed.
As we observed Lent, we prayed and applied the act of contrition.
In Christianity, contrition or contrition (from the Latin contritus ‘crushed to pieces’, that is, crushed by guilt) is repentance for the sins one has committed. … A central concept in much of Christianity, contrition is seen as the first step, through Christ, toward reconciliation with God.
While in excess of a billion Christians observe Lent each year, not all Christians do. It is observed by Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Easter Orthodox, Lutherans, and Methodists. Whole swathes of Protestants don’t observe Lent — Baptists, Evangelicals, Pentecostalists, Latter Day Saints
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The men signed of the cross of Christ
Go gaily in the dark. …
Night shall be thrice night over you,
And heaven an iron cope.
Do you have joy without a cause
Yea, faith without a hope?
– G.K. Chesterton,The Ballad of the White Horse
“Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God” (Joel 2:13).
Ever walk by a mirror on Ash Wednesday? Surprise! You forgot all about the big cross of ashes on your forehead. As easy as it is to forget the ashes we received, it’s even easier for us to forget our good intentions for the Lenten season. Human beings are creatures of habit. Sometimes, even the good things we do become habitual–as we see in today’s Old Testament reading. It had become mere routine for the Israelites to rend (tear) their garments and use ashes as an outward sign of inner repentance. That’s why the prophet Joel tells them that God wants them to “rend their hearts.” Repentance is more than an outward sign. It needs to be real. Heartfelt.
Happy almost-Lent, everyone! Some of you have asked me about suggestions for Lenten sacrifices, so here I am doing just that. Let’s get down to brass tacks, shall we? If you read nothing else in this post, read the quotation below. Then read it again. Let it simmer for awhile. In my mind, it really is all you need to know about Lent:
“Lent is a journey, it means accompanying Jesus as He travels to Jerusalem, the place where the mystery of His Passion, Death and Resurrection is to be fulfilled. It reminds us that Christian life is a ‘road’ to be travelled, consisting not so much in a law to be observed as in the person of Christ Himself, Who must be encountered, welcomed and followed” - Pope Benedict XVI (who else?)
If you’re still hungry for more, I present to you The Evangelista’s Three Simple Rules For Having a Meaningful Lent (tested by my experience):
1. Keep it simple.
My tendency is always (ALWAYS) to make things more complicated than they are, and Lent is no exception. I get all excited and start piling on the fasts to the point where I’m ready to throw in the towel after only a few days. Do not fall into this trap, my friends. KISS. The Church makes it SO EASY for us. The three traditional elements of Lenten observance are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. All you have to do is pick one way to embrace each and voila! you’ve paved the way for the Lord to do beautiful things in your heart for the next forty days (and beyond).
-Fasting: Sure, you can give up your favorite food(s) or alcohol, but fasting isn’t limited to food and drink. You could fast from Facebook. Or Instagram. Or shopping. Or wearing perfume. Or using the data plan on your smartphone (i.e. just use it for phone calls and texts). Or listening to secular music. Or listening to music at all in the car. You get the picture.
…regardless of what you give up, make sure that it’s making more room in your life for Christ. In those moments when you’re REALLY craving cashews or are sipping on club soda at happy hour, offer up a prayer for someone you know who’s suffering. Use the time you save by not surfing social media to pray, read, bake, call someone, or just be still. Fasting doesn’t help much if all that happens is you curse your grumbling stomach or use the time you would’ve spent on Facebook surfing Pinterest.
-Almsgiving:In my experience, almsgiving is most effective when it’s directly related to a fast. For example: in the past, I’ve given up shopping for clothes for Lent. Instead of pocketing the cash, I gave it to the poor. When I was tempted to shop, I prayed for my students who were suffering.
-Prayer:I try to pick up one new prayer habit during Lent, in hopes that it will stick for the rest of the year. It could be going to daily Mass, making a weekly/daily holy hour, reading your Bible every day (seriously changed my life), praying compline every night, making an examination of conscience before bed, reading a few pages of a spiritual book, praying a rosary every day, spend five minutes every day in silence allowing the Lord to speak…you really have an infinite number of options.
2. Take full advantage of feast days.
EVERY Sunday is a mini-Easter, so there’s no need to fast–in fact, you should feast! And no, it’s not “cheating.” Also, make sure you party it up on St. Joseph’s feast day (March 19th) and the Annunciation (March 25th). These days are great reminders that Christ has already won the victory over sin and death, so pop some bubbly and eat some dark chocolate, for goodness’ sake!
3. Try, try again.
Discouragement is the tool of Satan. If you fail to be faithful to your Lenten fast (and chances are you will), don’t beat yourself up about it and don’t throw in the towel! If you need to scale back, scale back. In the end, these Lenten practices are meant to be instruments of God’s grace in our lives, not temptations to Pelagianism (i.e. thinking that we can somehow perfect ourselves through our own efforts). If your Lenten sacrifices don’t lead you closer to Christ, ditch them and try something else. The only one who needs to know is Jesus. And he understands.
Still want more suggestions?
100 Things to Do for Lent (Held By His Pierced Hands)
Out of the Box: 66 Things to Take Up or Give Up For Lent (Catholic All Year)
Lenten Reading IdeasANDLenten Movie(!) Ideas (Happy Catholic)
Lenten Reading Recommendations (The Anchoress)
And check out ReverbCulture’s“Give Up/Pick Up” video project. I’m thinking about submitting one.
And in case you’re curious, here’s my reading list for these 40 days:
Charity: The Place of the Poor in the Biblical Tradition by Gary Anderson
The Love That Made Mother Teresa by David Scott
Holy Daring: The Fearless Trust of St. Therese of Lisieux by John Udris
Behold the Pierced One by Joseph Ratzinger (because a Lent without Ratzinger/Pope B16 is like a night without stars…obviously.)
Last year, I read Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week and OH MY GOSH it is amazing. If you want to learn more about the Scriptural accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection/want to fall more in love with Christ, READ THIS BOOK. That is all.
Papa Francis, take us home:
“It has been said that the only real regret lies in not being a saint (L. Bloy); we could also say that there is only one real kind of poverty: not living as children of God and brothers and sisters of Christ.” –Pope Francis, Lenten Message 2014
Home on Magazine Street in the Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana.
It is Epiphany, aka Three Kings’ Day, which is the start of carnival season. Today consisted of King Cake chaos in New Orleans. Let the beads begin!
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My naem is dust
I walk arownd
But where i com from
Is tha grownd
So i get smodged
W/ ash to lurn
That too tha dust
I shall reeturn
