Ash Wednesday

I went to Mass with some Protestants and a former Catholic tonight. It was the first time I had been to an Ash Wednesday Mass in quite a few years. The church was easily the most diverse body of believers I have ever been a part of, with the majority of the people being Hispanic or Vietnamese. The priest read half of the mass in Spanish and I still knew the proper responses in English. It’s funny how prayers can stick with you like lyrics to the songs you liked in junior high.

I’ve been debating what, if anything, to give up for the Lenten season. I decided on fast food, solely because I’ve gained ten pounds since Thanksgiving and have spent over half of my refund check on food in the past two weeks. The more I think about it, though, the more I feel odd giving something up. For one, it’s not really a “rule” that one must give up something, and two.. I’m not really Catholic. I don’t go to Mass regularly. I’m adamantly pro-life, pro-gay rights, pro-everything-conservatives-are-generally-against. I don’t really pray or have any certainty about the existence of God. So, what’s a pseudo-Catholic/Agnostic to do?

I’m not giving up anything. I’m adding something. I have roughly ten books that I’ve bought since Christmas break relating to God or the Church in some way. I’ve only begun to read two and I’m only close to completing one of them. For Lent, and possibly for the rest of the semester, I’m going to take an hour or two before bed each night to read one of these books. I’m currently still reading Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner and I’m about 1/4 the way through Follow Me To Freedom by Shane Claiborne. Starting tomorrow (if I remember), I’m going to post reflections (I hate that term) on what I’ve read before going to bed. (Honestly, I know I won’t do this on a daily basis and that’s okay because I only have one reader. ha.)

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