Today begins the penitential season of Lent, a season of fasting & abstinence culminating in the Easter Triduum, the holiest of holy observances, the death & resurrection of Christ Jesus. What God the Father would not permit Abraham to do on Mount Moriah, He was willing to do for each & every one of us. The Christ took the sin of all the world upon his sinless breast, & died the death our wickedness had earned us. But first we commemorate the forty days in the desert the Christ endured before setting out upon His ministry. We sacrifice not for sacrifice's sake, not as a hypocritical display of our own piety, but to unclutter our lives, our minds, so that we might spend more time with Him, might more clearly hear His voice. Today begins the penitential season of Lent, thanks be to God.
The Gospel According to Matthew, 7:13-14 (N.A.B.)
Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.Project GLOWWORM
I forgo my customary hat on Ash Wednesday, in a bid to preserve the ashes on my forehead. (Forgive me this vanity.) This makes Ash Wednesday one of the strangest days of the year, a fun reminder of how swiftly things change, because it was not so long ago that I almost never wore a hat, & that didn't seem even the slightest bit odd. Of course, this will be a bitter cold day go go about without a hat, but such is the price to be paid for the Best Winter Ever.
I'm dreaming of a white Easter…
The Rebel Black Dot Polka Medley of Ash Wednesday
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Polka Party!" from Polka Party! (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Polka-link.
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