This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, and we attended the most crowded Mass EVER. People were so packed in that it was standing room only on the right, left, and rear of the church, and there was just enough room for one person to walk in the aisle, thanks to folding chairs in the aisle. I am pretty sure that the number of children and babies exceeded the number of adults, which significantly increased the noise level. Most parts of the Mass were said in both English and Spanish, and even adults seemed to feel free to chat when it wasn’t their language being spoken.

Still, it was beautiful to see so many people gathering to celebrate the Eucharist, especially on a day that isn’t even a Holy Day of Obligation! I think people really like sacramentals… why else would Mass attendance consistently be so high on Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday? We are flesh and blood people, and we associate with tangible items in a different way than we do with matters of the spirit or of the mind. We might easily forget a homily about the importance of sacrifice, humility, mercy, and forgiveness but we will remember those things with a physical symbol throughout our day.  Hearing the priest say, “Remember you are dust, and unto dust you shall return,” as he marks a cross on our foreheads, smelling the smoky ashes (an ancient symbol of repentance) with their hint of incense, feeling the grit on our foreheads… they are all ways for us to experience what might otherwise remain abstract. It all reminds us of our mortality, and calls us to die to sin in order to share in Christ’s resurrection.

Because I am a flesh-and-blood human, I’ve decided that I’m more likely to stick with my Lenten sacrifices this year if I have some accountability, and what better way to hold myself accountable than to share my plans with the whole Internet the handful of people who read our blog?  I’ve always liked the idea of not just giving up something for Lent, but doing something extra as well. Trading one negative habit, temptation, or tendency for one positive one. So this year I’ll write an update each Friday about how I’m doing with my Lenten commitment. Before I share what that is, I have a couple jokes for you.

My childhood memories of Ash Wednesday consist of singing “We Rise Again From Ashes” with my classmates at St. Pius X Elementary School, and listening to a joke during Father’s homily about a little boy hearing about us coming from dust and returning to dust, and determining that somebody is either coming or going under his bed. Hardy har har. (Every. Single. Year. …) The other joke I remember, but probably not from my grade school years, is about a priest being held hostage at gunpoint, trying to reason with the young man on the other end of the gun. The priest lights a cigarette to calm his nerves and offers one to the criminal, who thanks him but says he gave up smoking for Lent. The point is that we should be giving up the things in our lives that most keep us from God. While we smile at the criminal who gives up smoking but should clearly have given up his criminal activity, I wonder if God smiles when we give up chocolate instead of gossip, or desserts instead of hours of TV?

My plan is to start being more involved with my community. Ever since putting teaching on hold in order to move to a new state and have a baby, I’ve built myself a pretty insular world within my home. I’ve long complained to God that I miss feeling like part of a community, particularly the faith community I had found in college, so it’s time I do something to change that. Overall I plan to spend time this Lenten season becoming more connected to the community outside my home.  More concretely, I will attend at least one event per week through my parish or in the wider community. Those outings should make good fodder for blogging, so I’ll have my husband help hold me accountable for what I’m giving up, and ask you to help hold me accountable for what I’m adding.

Oh, and I have it on good authority that Siena plans to give up complaining when we put her in her carseat, and start taking longer and more predictable naps each day. I’ll let you know how that’s going each Friday, too ;-)