March 6
“Ash Wednesday is considered the 'door' to Lent.” -Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
Today's Reflection
Today is the beginning of a 40-day campaign dedicated to ridding ourselves of vice and filling ourselves with virtue. Bring your plans for this Lenten season to the feet of the Crucified and ask for His blessing as you begin this sacred journey.
In the eyes of the world, Ash Wednesday is the day when people with “dirty foreheads” appear in supermarkets and cafes and order fish instead of steak. But in the eyes of the faithful, this day is the beginning of a season designed to make the weak-kneed-but-willing into true champions.
I used to think mortification during Lent was something that belonged to the dark ages. Giving up chocolate (which I rarely eat) and fish on Fridays (I love fish) was my speed. Anything rougher than that? Not so much. And then one year the Lord taught me a lesson . . .
To some, love might mean never having to say you’re sorry, but on this Valentine’s Day – which happens to fall on Ash Wednesday – millions of Catholics will be doing just that as they kick off the penitential season of Lent on the same day that they celebrate the great gift of love.
Yesterday on our radio program, Women of Grace® Live, I recommended two resources for Lent _-- In Conversation with God, Volume 2 by Francis Fernandez; and Divine Intimacy by Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, OCD. Today, I followed my own advice and prayerfully read the selections for Ash Wednesday. Both were excellent. But it was one line in Section 2 of In Conversation with God that grabbed me.
