For Lent I will continue blogging as a penance for others.
So be prepared for more bad puns during this season, for after all Lent is a
punitential season.
Ash Wednesday must be a Cultural Day of Obligation. Every
Ash Wednesday Mass that I have attended (which has only been since 1998) has
always been full and overflowing with people, unlike real Holy Days of Obligation
like the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. I am not quite sure what brings people
to this Mass at the start of Lent and not to other holy days. Is it the ashes
or more of a Catholic Cultural phenomenon? If it is the sacramental drawing
of the cross on the forehead with ashes then maybe we could have face painting
on All Saints Day to draw more people. The Mass I attended this morning with
my wife had three priests to distribute the ashes. One of them the elder visiting
color blind brother of one of the priest at my Parish, at least I hope he was
color blind since he wore an orange stole.
I am actually looking forward for this season of Lent as
an opportunity for that continuing fine-tuning of the Christian life and too
help me prepare for that glorious celebration of Easter. I know I need to more
deeply prepare and reflect on the death and sacrifice of Christ which lead to
our redemption. I should be totally awestruck by this and not just plodding
through life. The liturgical seasons are one of the greatest gifts of the Church
to us. They help us to continue to grow and to always put forward the life of
Jesus to us. I just hope that at the end of Lent I will have moved closer to
Jesus.
1 comment
My pastor once remarked about how people won’t show up for a Holy Day of Obligation, but if you are giving away something, people show up in droves. In my words, an obligation under pain of mortal sin and therefore possible eternal hellfire doesn’t get people to Mass on a weekday, but giving them something does. Palm Sunday is another popular day for people to all show up when they otherwise wouldn’t.