21 February 2007

Lent Begins

After the furor of mardi gras, this is a quiet day. It's appropriate weather here, too, as grey as the ashes and raining steadily. Every once in a while there is a rumble of thunder. Willow, her eyes big, retreats into her crate: "The sky is growling at me!" Pidge chirps back or coos to Girlfriend: "I'm not afraid of that ol' sky."

Ash Wednesday

"Ash Wednesday: Our Shifting Understanding of Lent"

Ken Collins on Ash Wednesday

Catholic Online on Ash Wednesday

The BBC's Page on Ash Wednesday

I remember going to St. Mary's every Ash Wednesday.The old walls of the church smelled strongly of incense. People bundled in winter coats trailed to the altar and then back. Mostly women but some men said rosaries after receiving their ashes. Some children were taken to Mass before school and came in with the mark of ashes on their foreheads. We went after work because Daddy left for work too early to go to church, but was home by 4 p.m. By then the sun was low in the sky and the old church was dim, with the banks of votive candles a flickeringly bright oasis around the altar.

No comments: