Ashes to Ashes, Funk to Funky

 Ash Wednesday-2022

You are dust, and unto dust, you shall return!

 Those are the words spoken as the ashes are spread upon our foreheads. They are supposed to remind us of our mortality, that we are going to die one day. It seems morbid, but it's true. As a priest for almost 22 years, I have learned some hard facts, and one of those facts is that we are NOT guaranteed tomorrow.

We think, especially the young, that we have all the time in the world. We don't give much thought to the end of our lives and what will happen after. Lent is supposed to remind us that life is short, and we should from time to time stop and reflect upon it, and make adjustments, repent in fact, change our choices, our behavior, our words, our sins.

Three ways that Jesus suggests that we do this are by fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. The very idea of these suggestions can be overwhelming, but I believe that the key to having a successful Lent, one in that we have changed for the better, become better Christians, is to KEEP IT SIMPLE.

Fasting doesn't have to be a major ordeal living on bread and water. We can find many little ways, manageable ways we can fast. Don't put cream in your coffee, don't put salt on your food, eat dry toast, instead of buttering it, watch one less TV show for Lent...These are small sacrifices, but you get the idea, if we take on something big we have a greater chance of giving up on it before the end of the season. Keeping it simple, we can be more successful.

Prayer can be simply reading some more scripture, using a reflection booklet, that many churches give out for the season, or just sitting quietly for 15 minutes having a conversation with Jesus in the privacy of our room or at church.

Almsgiving doesn't have to be writing a big check to a charity, it can be collecting the pocket change everyday and making sure we put it in the poor box at church on Sundays. Adding some extra items to our own shopping list, like peanut butter and jelly and dropping them off at a food cupboard, or volunteering some time at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter or our local church. Our time can be more valuable than our money at times.

Lent can be a beautiful season of the church reflecting on the sacrifices that Jesus did for us, dying on the cross. It should motivate us to change, to want to do better. If we KEEP IT SIMPLE  we will. God Bless!