Preparation.

[tablesaw]

Today's Ash Wednesday, and I managed to get home in time to catch the early Mass at my parish. Today was the first time in my life, though, that I was forced to wash the ashes off of my face when I got home. You see, the priest (monsignor, perhaps?) who imposed the ashes upon me was a bit old school. For one thing, when he recited, "Dust you are and to dust you shall return," he did it in Latin. But he also was using a thumb that was still wet from blessing the ashes with holy water. So, instead of getting a wispy, ashy memento mori that slowly disipated in the wind, I got a big black mud-caked cross on my forehead that would not be moved. I washed it off when I noticed it before dinner because I wasn't sure I'd remember to clean it off before I went to bed.

Also, I'd like to see a priest use a sermon that tackles the Gospel reading that says, "But when you fast . . . wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden," right before smearing a big old, "Look at me I'm fasting" symbol on your forehead.

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And since it's Ash Wednesday, I have forty-seven days to plan for my Easter Party/Egg Hunt/Puzzle Hunt. (Yes, forty-seven. The forty days of Lent only go up to Palm Sunday.). I know my structure, I know my ending, and I have a vague idea on some of the lower level puzzles, but I need to really get cracking on them. I also want to actually have invitations this year, sent out by Saint Patrick's Day.

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And speaking of Easter, I think that no matter how you feel about Gibson's new Jesus movie, you'll agree with yesterday's Dork Tower.

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Finally, I think I should introduce a regular reader of my journal, my mother. Hello, Mom! I point her out to you, because at a recent meal we shared, I learned that she was also reading the journals of my friends, sometimes regularly. It's already been noted by shadesong, and she remembered details of other people too. So, just, be aware. And don't worry, she doesn't have her own journal.

WedNYTX: 9:15.

Comments

*sigh*

[avivasedai.livejournal.com]

I wish my mom would read my LJ. I told my parents and all online family when I started it, and I referred to it once after that, and they never read it. (My mom is a bit of a technophobe, however: I think she still doesn't know how to program the VCR at all, nor does she have an email address.)

Yay, someone else's Mom!

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

*waves*

[miseri.livejournal.com]

This is the third version of How To Count 40 Days of Lent that I have heard. I've heard that Lent only goes up to Holy Thursday, and also that the Sundays of Lent are not included in the 40-day count.

One day I'm going to have to get some sort of definitive statement on this.... in the meantime, I suppose it doesn't really matter how the days are counted.

[tablesaw]

My version came from sitting down with a calendar and pointing at days and counting up to 40 and seeing where I ended up.

[miseri.livejournal.com]

I did that counting off the days from the calendar too, once upon a time, and reasoned that if we started with Ash Wednesday as Day 1 we'd count Palm Sunday as Day 40, so Holy Week would not actually be part of Lent....

If we omit the Sundays from the count, the 40th day after Ash Wednesday (including Ash Wednesday as Day 1) would be Holy Saturday, and that works out too.

dealing with "when you fast"

[jlsgaladriel.livejournal.com]

Randomly reading friends of friends and caught your post...

Just wondering if you'd mind elaborating on how your priest dealt with the ashes-on-the-forehead/"but-when-you-fast" problem? (I'm in seminary, quoted this in perplexity this morning when explaining to another seminarian why I was conflicted on the issue, and would love to hear another take on it!)

(ps: the whole lenten counting thing is due to the idea that Sundays are always mini Easter celebrations, so they don't count as part of the forty days of lent. Of course, most churches still number Sundays as "first Sunday in lent," so this counting seems to have broken down somewhere along the way...)

[fourcoffees.livejournal.com]

I take it you've seen that Icon Productions are selling replica cross nails to hang around your neck (or, presumably, to bang through your palms)?

[duchez.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to wave a hello to Mrs. D!