Obligations

I was reminded last night of the profound need for ashes in a Christian life....there is none.

The priest who led the Ash Wednesday service I attended noted that ashes are just dust and while Ash Wednesday is a Holy Day of Obligation so are lots of other days, like Sunday, and he waxed poetic about the idea of handing out ash on other church holidays to spike attendance.  An interesting thought if the faithful's goal is only to get their ash.  It was an interesting sales pitch to say the least...it's Ash Wednesday, skip the ashes.

He then talked about prayer, alms giving, and fasting.

Prayer he mentioned from the perspective, now is the time to reflect on your relationship with God.  The priest's comments made me think of a marriage counselor talking about two separated entities...how would God know you love him if you don't talk and how can you talk if you don't pray?  Indeed.

He also mentioned alms giving and fasting as a way to push ourselves not into denial, but to limit ourselves from things we may want more than we should.  How often do we hang onto dollars that might be better spent in the social arm of the church?  How often do we order the second helping of food which we didn't need and don't finish?

Most importantly though, my borrowed priest for the day - since I was out of town - mentioned the idea of giving something up.  He referenced Joel and the accounts of people who would pray aloud or fast so as to be seen.  He said if giving up chocolate or soda makes you irritable and a less Christian person, skip it.  The idea is to avoid the item you like to realize your needs can be filled by your love of God...if you let Him in.  A great homily on a great day.