6th March 2019 - Ash Wednesday 2019

#LiveLent - Irish Catholic Bishops Conference Lenten Resources

A round up of various things from around the web this Ash Wednesday:

Bishop Leahy urges ‘if you’re not giving up, give more this Lent’ 

Lent is a time to take stock and make a new start – Bishop Brendan Leahy

Lenten fasting advice from the Pope who faced Attila the Hun

Why is Ash Wednesday So Late This Year?

Reflections for Ash Wednesday

From Rome:

Pope on Ash Wednesday: Lenten fasting a ‘wake-up call for the soul’

Pope at Ash Wednesday Mass: ‘focus on what is essential’ 

Pope Francis marks the beginning of Lent - Following a tradition almost as old as the Church in Rome herself, Pope Francis goes to the Basilica of Santa Sabina to mark the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday.

It Took Forty Days…

Salt + Light TV - Reflection for Ash Wednesday by Fr Thomas Rosica, CSB

Pope's three actions to practice during Lent: Pause, See and Return - Rome Reports

Vatican News - Pope Francis celebrated Ash Wednesday Mass in the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome. As per tradition the ceremony started at the Basilica of St. Anselm where the Pope led a penitential procession to the nearby St. Sabina, marking the beginning Lent, the time of preparation for Holy Week.

A Papal roundup for Ash Wednesday

In a break with papal tradition, Pope Francis celebrated Mass and received the imposition of the ashes for Ash Wednesday in St Peter's Basilica in Rome today. Rather than going to Santa Sabina to celebrate Mass, Pope Francis commissioned hundreds of “Missionaries of Mercy” during Mass on Ash Wednesday at Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. In his Bull announcing the Jubilee Year of Mercy, the Holy Father said the Missionaries of Mercy “would be a sign of the Church’s maternal solicitude for the People of God, enabling them to enter the profound richness of this mystery so fundamental to the faith.” Priests chosen to be Missionaries of Mercy have also been given the authority to pardon “even those sins reserved to the Holy See.” Above all, the Pope said, they will be “living signs of the Father’s readiness to welcome those in search of his pardon.”

During Ash Wednesday Mass, the Pope focused on the theme of mercy as we begin the season of Lent.

Vatican Radio report of the Mass including the Pope's homily is available here

 

 



“If the Jubilee does not touch the pocket, it is not a true jubilee”. At the General Audience on Ash Wednesday morning, the Holy Father stated, without mincing words, that the Holy Year must serve “to combat poverty”. To the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square on 10 February, Francis offered a historical reflection on the biblical roots of the Jubilee as an occasion for fostering justice and sharing. Vatican Radio has a translation of the Pope’s catechesis, which he delivered in Italian here.



Ash Wednesday - Awake my soul, awake harp and lyre, I will awake the dawn

 
Awake my soul, awake lyre and harp, I will awake the dawn!

The words of the psalmist call us to celebrate the joyful season of Lent. It is generally viewed penitential season which is true, but it is also a season of hope as we reflect on the great mercy of God. It seems appropriate that here in the northern hemisphere, Lent always falls during Spring with the promise of new life which echoes the liturgical season as we prepare for the Passion, Death but ultimately the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Like the way the season of Winter death gives way to the new life of Spring, we are called to die to our old selves and embrace the newness of life in Gods mercy. 
 
So to help you along your Lenten journey we have a couple of short videos below and if you look to the side bar on the left hand side we have listed a number of sites with online resources for the Lenten season.

But the basics of Lent - making time for prayer and dialogue with God, fasting from food or behaviours in our daily lives to create space for God and to remind us of those who do without and alms giving - response to the needs of others to whom we owe assistance in justice and mercy to the best of our abilities. None of these require internet or social media, just an open heart and willingness to do all for God.

 
Lenten Lessons: Preparing to Meet Christ - cross linked from Pray Tell - As the Christian West prepares to begin Lent on Ash Wednesday, the writer publishes a brief personal account on the meaning of Lent. Lent begins on Monday, March 14 for the Eastern Orthodox Church. Ash Wednesday does not belong to their liturgical tradition; they begin with Vespers and the rite of Forgiveness).
The Virtue of Asceticism - Giving up chocolate? Deleting your Facebook account? We all choose to mark Lent in different ways and more often than not focus on abstaining from something we enjoy, but is this always good for us? Nicholas Austin SJ explores how our attempts at an ascetic way of life for forty days each year can go wrong if our motivations are not rooted in the wisdom of the Christian tradition. How can we rediscover the virtue of asceticism?Poetry for Lent & Easter
Lent FAQ - From Mardi Gras to Holy Week, everything you need to know about the season of Lent.
Seven Common Misconceptions About Lent
iBenedictine - Preparing for Lent 2016: the Poverty Bill
iBenedictine - Preparing for Lent
iBenedictine- A Few Resources for Lent
 

 



 
 

I desire mercy, and not sacrifice” (Mt 9:13). The works of mercy on the road of the Jubilee

Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for Lent 2016

 

 

 

Marked by Ashes

Ruler of the Night, Guarantor of the day . . .This day — a gift from you.
This day — like none other you have ever given, or we have ever received.
This Wednesday dazzles us with gift and newness and possibility.
This Wednesday burdens us with the tasks of the day, for we are already halfway home
     halfway back to committees and memos,
     halfway back to calls and appointments,
     halfway on to next Sunday,
     halfway back, half frazzled, half expectant,
     half turned toward you, half rather not.

This Wednesday is a long way from Ash Wednesday,
   but all our Wednesdays are marked by ashes —
     we begin this day with that taste of ash in our mouth:
       of failed hope and broken promises,
       of forgotten children and frightened women,
     we ourselves are ashes to ashes, dust to dust;
     we can taste our mortality as we roll the ash around on our tongues.

We are able to ponder our ashness with
   some confidence, only because our every Wednesday of ashes
   anticipates your Easter victory over that dry, flaky taste of death.

On this Wednesday, we submit our ashen way to you —
   you Easter parade of newness.
   Before the sun sets, take our Wednesday and Easter us,
     Easter us to joy and energy and courage and freedom;
     Easter us that we may be fearless for your truth.
   Come here and Easter our Wednesday with
     mercy and justice and peace and generosity.
We pray as we wait for the Risen One who comes soon.

- Walter Brueggemann (b. 1933)

Pope leads procession to mark the Season of Lent. Asks for gift of repentance and tears - Rome Reports

Pope Francis' homily for Ash Wednesday

This afternoon –Ash Wednesday, day of the beginning of Lent – an assembly of prayer took place in the form of the Roman “Stations,” presided over by Pope Francis. At 4:30 pm, in the church of Saint Anselm all”Aventino, a moment of prayer was held followed by a penitential procession to the Basilica of Saint Sabina. Taking part in the procession were Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Benedictine monks of Saint Anselm, Dominican Fathers of Saint Sabina and some faithful. At the end of the procession, Pope Francis presided over the celebration of the Eucharist in the Basilica of Saint Sabina, with the rite of the blessing and imposition of ashes.

The following is a translation of the homily that the Pope delivered after the proclamation of the Holy Gospel by Zenit.

* * *

We begin today, as People of God, our Lenten journey, a time in which we seek to unite ourselves more closely to the Lord Jesus Christ, to share the mystery of His Passion and His Resurrection.

The Ash Wednesday liturgy proposes to us first of all the passage of the prophet Joel, sent by God to call the people to penance and conversion, because of a calamity (an invasion of grasshoppers) that was devastating Judea. Only the Lord can save us from a scourge; therefore, it is necessary to beg him with prayers and fasting, confessing our sin.

The prophet insists on interior conversion: “Return to me with all your heart” (2:12). To return to the Lord “with all your heart” means to undertake the journey of a conversion that is not superficial and transitory, but a spiritual itinerary that concerns the most intimate place of our person. The heart, in fact, is the seat of our sentiments, the center in which our choices and our attitudes mature.
That “return to me with all your heart” does not involve individuals only, but is extended to the whole community; it is a convocation addressed to all: “gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber” (verse 16).

The prophet pauses in particular on the prayer of priests, noting that it is accompanied by tears. At the beginning of this Lent, it will do us good to ask for the gift of tears, so as to render our prayer and our journey of conversion ever more genuine and free of hypocrisy.

This, in fact, is the message of today’s Gospel. In the passage of Matthew, Jesus rereads the three works of mercy foreseen in the Mosaic Law: almsgiving, prayer and fasting. In the course of time, these prescriptions were impaired by the rust of exterior formalism, or were really changed into a sign of social superiority. Jesus puts in evidence a common temptation in these three works, which can be summarized, in fact, as hypocrisy (he names it a good three times): “Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them .... When you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do .... When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray ... at the street corners, that they may be seen by men .... And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites” (Matthew 6:1.2.5.16).

When we do something good, almost instinctively a desire is born in us to be esteemed and admired for that good action, to get some satisfaction. Jesus invites us to do these good works without any ostentation, and to trust only in the Father’s reward "who sees in secret” (Matthew 6:4.6.18).

Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord never tires of having mercy on us and he wants to offers us once again his forgiveness, inviting us to turn to Him with a new heart, purified of evil, to take part in his joy. How are we to receive this invitation? Saint Paul suggests this to us in today’s Second Reading: “We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). This effort of conversion is not only a human work. Reconciliation between us and God is possible thanks to the mercy of the Father who, out of love for us, did not hesitate to sacrifice his Only-begotten Son. In fact, Christ, who was just and without sin, was made sin for us (v. 21) when on the cross he was burdened with our sins, and in this way rescued and justified us before God. “In him” we can become just, in Him we can change, if we receive God’s grace and do not let the “favorable moment” pass in vain (6:2).

With this awareness, we begin our Lenten itinerary confident and joyful. May Mary Immaculate support our spiritual battle against sin, accompany us in this favorable moment, so that we can come to sing together the exultance of the victory in the Easter of Resurrection.

Shortly we will carry out the gesture of the imposition of ashes on the head. The celebrant pronounces these words: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return” (Cf. Genesis 3:19), or he repeats Jesus’ exhortation: “repent and believe in the Gospel” (Cf. Mark 1:15). Both formulas constitute a call to the truth of human existence: we are limited creatures, sinners always in need of penance and conversion. How important it is to listen and to accept such a call in this our time! Therefore, the invitation to conversion is a spur to return, as the son did in the parable, to the arms of God, tender and merciful Father, to trust in Him and to entrust oneself to Him.

[Original text: Italian]

[Translation by ZENIT]

A Papal Ash Wednesday roundup

In his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis spoke about the importance of Lent as a time for each of us “to promote change and conversion” in our lives. Lent, the Pope said, should help us to get out of “the tired habits and lazy addictions to evil that deceive us.” During this season, we are invited us to be more keenly aware “of the redemptive work of Christ,” and “to live out our Baptism with greater commitment.”

You can read the English summary from Vatican Radio HERE.




Pope Francis on Ash Wednesday afternoon celebrated Mass at the ancient basilica of Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill where he received his ashes. Santa Sabina is the home of the Dominican Order. 

Photos of the traditional Ash Wednesday papal procession from San Anselmo to Santa Sabina available from Vatican Radio Facebook page HERE and HERE.

 




 
Pope Francis delivered the homily at Mass to mark the beginning of the Lenten season on Wednesday - Ash Wednesday. In his remarks to the gathered faithful, the Holy Father spoke of the three hallmarks of Christian struggle during the penitential season: prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
 

“Rend your hearts and not your garments” (Joel 2:13).

 

With these insightful words of the prophet Joel, the liturgy introduces us into Lent today, indicating the conversion of the heart characteristic of this time of grace. The prophetic call is a challenge for all of us, without exception, and reminds us that conversion is not a matter reducible to outward forms or vague intentions, but engages and transforms one’s entire existence from the center of the person, from the conscience. We are invited to embark on a journey in which, in defiance of the routine, we strive to open our eyes and ears, but especially the heart, to go beyond our “little garden.” 

To open oneself to God and to others: we live in an increasingly artificial world, in a culture of “doing”, [a culture] of the “useful”, in which we exclude God from our horizon without even realizing it. Lent calls us to “give ourselves a ‘shake-up’”, to remember that we are creatures, that we are not God.  

We run the risk of closing ourselves to others also: we risk forgetting them, too - but only when the difficulties and sufferings of our brothers challenge us, only then we can start our journey of conversion towards Easter. It is an itinerary that includes the cross and sacrifice. Today’s Gospel shows the elements of this spiritual journey: prayer , fasting and almsgiving (cf. Mt 6,1-6.16-18 ). All three involve the need not to be dominated by the appearance of things: the appearance of things does not matter – nor does the value of life depend on the approval of others or on success, but from how much we have inside. 

The first element is the prayer. Prayer is the strength of the Christian and of every believing person. In the weakness and fragility of our life, we can turn to God with the confidence of children and enter into communion with Him. In the face of so many wounds that hurt us and that could harden the heart, we are called to dive into the sea of prayer, which is the sea of God’s boundless love, to enjoy its tenderness. Lent is a time of prayer, a more intense, more diligent prayer, [one] more able to take care of the needs of the brethren, to intercede before God for the many situations of poverty and suffering.
The second element of the Lenten journey is fasting. We must be careful not to make a formal fasting, or one that in truth “satisfies” us because it makes us feel as though we have all in order. Fasting makes sense if it really affects our security, and also if a benefit to others comes from it, if it helps us to grow in the spirit of the Good Samaritan, who bends down to his brother in need and takes care of him. Fasting involves choosing a sober life, which does not waste, which does not “discard”. Fasting helps us to train the heart to essentiality and sharing. It is a sign of awareness and responsibility in the face of injustices, abuses, especially towards the poor and the little ones, and is a sign of our trust in God and His providence. 

The third element is almsgiving: it is a sign of gratuity because alms are given to someone from whom you would not expect to receive anything in return. Gratuity should be one of the characteristics of a Christian, who, aware of having received everything from God freely, that is without any merit, learns to give to others freely. Today often gratuity is not part of everyday life, where everything is bought and sold. Everything is calculation and measurement. Almsgiving helps us to live the gratuitousness of the gift, which is freedom from the obsession with possessing things, [freedom from] the fear of losing what one has, from the sadness of those who do not want to share their well-being with others. 

With its calls to conversion, Lent comes providentially to rouse us, to shake us from our torpor, from the risk of moving forward [merely] by inertia. The exhortation that the Lord speaks to us through the prophet Joel is loud and clear: "Return to me with all your heart” (Joel 2:12). Why must we return to God? Because something is wrong in us, in society, in the Church - and we need to change, to turn things around, to repent! Once again Lent comes to make its prophetic appeal, to remind us that it is possible to realize something new within ourselves and around us, simply because God is faithful, continues to be full of goodness and mercy, and is always ready to forgive and start over from scratch. With this filial confidence, let us set out on our way!

Been a while since you got ashes? - A Concord Pastor Comments

From Rev Austin Fleming who blogs at A Concord Pastor comments:

Let's see... I guess it's been a while
since I went to church on Ash Wednesday
to get ashes...

How long's it been?
Yup - it's been a while...

Why did I stop getting ashes?
Will I go this year?
Why should I go this year?
Why go any year?
Why ashes?

Getting ashes doesn't mean I'm holy.
As a matter of fact,
getting ashes means I'm not holy...

Ashes are for people like me who make mistakes,
sometimes little ones, sometimes big ones...

Ashes are for people who screw up,
people who forget some important things,
people who let things slide...

Ashes are for people who sometimes hurt other people,
who even hurt the people they love...

Ashes are for imperfect, broken people,
for people who let things get out of control,
for people who sometimes do the wrong thing
even when they know what the right thing is...

Ashes are for people who take too many short cuts,
who don't always tell the truth,
who sometimes cheat,
for people who keep silent when they ought to speak up...

Ashes are for people who want to do better,
who want to give more,
who want to do more,
who want to make some changes,
who want to grow inside,
in the mind, in the heart, in the soul...

Ashes are for people like me...

Going to church and getting ashes
probably won't turn my life around overnight
but it could be a step, even just one step,
in a new direction,
on a path I sometimes think I want to follow
but often stray from...

Getting ashes this Wednesday
just might be the beginning
of mending my relationship with God,
or with the people in my life,
or with myself...

Getting ashes this Wednesday might help me
take an honest look at things in my life
that need looking at, that need attention,
that need reconciling and healing...

Getting ashes this Wednesday might feel kinda strange,
and I might be a little embarrassed
when others see my smudged forehead
and ask me why I did it.
Well, I could say I did it
because I've been thinking about my life,
taking a little personal inventory,
considering some changes
and I thought this might be a way, a place to start...

Me in church?
Me getting ashes?
I might feel a little strange myself!
But something tells me it won't hurt
and it might be good to give it a try,
to give it a chance:
to give God and me a chance at a new beginning...

So even if it's been a long time since the last time,
I'm going to church this Wednesday
to say a prayer and to get ashes:
to say hello to God
and take a first step on that path...

And since I know that between now and Wednesday
I'll think of a dozen reasons not to go,
give me a nudge, Lord, a shove,
a kick in the butt or whatever it takes
for me to take that first step this Wednesday,
this Ash Wednesday...

See you on Wednesday, Lord!

Ash Wednesday 2013 and Resources for Lent

 

Sancte Pater, sic transit gloria mundi

(("Holy Father, so passes worldly glory!")

These words, thus addressed to the pope during the old papal coronation ceremony, served as a reminder of the transitory nature of life and earthly honors)

Popes come, and Popes go; although our normal experience as Church is that they die in office, but the liturgical calendar moves on, marking God's time not ours. And despite the fact that he may be stepping down on February 28th, Pope Benedict XVI gave two very thought provoking addresses today about Ash Wednesday and Lent, one at the weekly General Audience and also the homily at Mass in St Peters for the imposition of ashes (which was transferred from Santa Sabina).

If you want to see a series of short videos on the cermonies today check out Rome Reports.

"Overcoming the temptation to place God in submission to oneself and one’s own interests or to put Him in a corner and converting oneself to the proper order of priorities, giving God the first place, is a journey that every Christian must undergo. "Conversion", an invitation that we will hear many times in Lent, means following Jesus in so that his Gospel is a real life guide, it means allowing God transform us, no longer thinking that we are the only protagonists of our existence, recognizing that we are creatures who depend on God, His love, and that only by “losing" our life in Him can we truly have it. This means making our choices in the light of the Word of God. Today we can no longer be Christians as a simple consequence of the fact that we live in a society that has Christian roots: even those born to a Christian family and formed in the faith must, each and every day, renew the choice to be a Christian, to give God first place, before the temptations continuously suggested by a secularized culture, before the criticism of many of our contemporaries."

"In this time of Lent, in the Year of the faith, we renew our commitment to the process of conversion, to overcoming the tendency to close in on ourselves and instead, to making room for God, looking at our daily reality with His eyes. The alternative between being wrapped up in our egoism and being open to the love of God and others, we could say corresponds to the alternatives to the temptations of Jesus: the alternative, that is, between human power and love of the Cross, between a redemption seen only in material well-being and redemption as the work of God, to whom we give primacy in our lives. Conversion means not closing in on ourselves in the pursuit of success, prestige, position, but making sure that each and every day, in the small things, truth, faith in God and love become most important."

"Dear brothers and sisters, we begin our Lenten journey with trust and joy. May the invitation to conversion , to "return to God with all our heart", resonate strongly in us, accepting His grace that makes us new men and women, with the surprising news that is participating in the very life of Jesus. May none of us, therefore, be deaf to this appeal, also addressed in the austere rite, so simple and yet so beautiful, of the imposition of ashes, which we will shortly carry out. May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church and model of every true disciple of the Lord accompany us in this time. Amen!"

 

Some resources for Lent:

• Blue Eyed Ennis - I am actually exhausted trying to keep up with Phil as she as a whirlwind of reflections and resources for Lent.
• Aggie Catholic has their famous Lent Megalink roundup available
• The Anchoress has a round up of links
• The Path of Life - Ashes to Ashes 
• The Jesuits have been busy providing resources for Lent. Click on the link in our left hand side sidebar. You can also check out here, here and here.
• The Deacons Bench homily for Ash Wednesday
• Godzdogz - Lenten series of reflections starting today
• Remember you are dust: Lent and Creation.
• Word on Fire Lent Reflections
• iBenedictines - Ash Wednesday
• Dominicana - Perhaps in Ashes

Marked by Ashes - Walter Brueggemann

Marked by Ashes

Ruler of the Night, Guarantor of the day . . .This day — a gift from you.
This day — like none other you have ever given, or we have ever received.
This Wednesday dazzles us with gift and newness and possibility.
This Wednesday burdens us with the tasks of the day, for we are already halfway home
halfway back to committees and memos,
halfway back to calls and appointments,
halfway on to next Sunday,
halfway back, half frazzled, half expectant,
half turned toward you, half rather not.

This Wednesday is a long way from Ash Wednesday,
but all our Wednesdays are marked by ashes —
we begin this day with that taste of ash in our mouth:
of failed hope and broken promises,
of forgotten children and frightened women,
we ourselves are ashes to ashes, dust to dust;
we can taste our mortality as we roll the ash around on our tongues.

We are able to ponder our ashness with
some confidence, only because our every Wednesday of ashes
anticipates your Easter victory over that dry, flaky taste of death.

On this Wednesday, we submit our ashen way to you —
you Easter parade of newness.
Before the sun sets, take our Wednesday and Easter us,
Easter us to joy and energy and courage and freedom;
Easter us that we may be fearless for your truth.
Come here and Easter our Wednesday with
mercy and justice and peace and generosity.

We pray as we wait for the Risen One who comes soon.

- Walter Brueggemann

Ash Wednesday 2012 - UPDATED

0 Lord of hosts be with us; for we have no help but Thee in troubles. 0 Lord of hosts have mercy on us - Praise him for his mighty acts; praise him according to the greatness of his majesty.
0 Lord of hosts be with us; for we have no help but Thee in troubles. 0 Lord of hosts have mercy on us - Praise him with the sound of the trumpet; praise him with lute and harp.

0 Lord of hosts be with us; for we have no help but Thee in troubles. 0 Lord of hosts have mercy on us. - Praise him with timbrel and dance; praise him with strings and pipe.

0 Lord of hosts be with us; for we have no help but Thee in troubles.

0 Lord of hosts have mercy on us.

Ash Wednesday - The beginning of the joyful season of Lent

And so the time turns and this season of renewal and repentance comes around again. It is one of the beauties of the liturgical calender that we have this joyful season of waiting and preparation for the summit of our faith - Easter and Resurrection morn.  As Fr Micháel reminded us on the programme on Sunday morning, Lent is seen as being a season of doing without, where we are called to repent and believe the Gospel. But for the ordinary person perhaps it could be summed up in a child-like expression as "Don't be bold and say your prayers" (Ná bi dána agus abhair do phaidreacha).

The season of Lent is a journey towards Easter and that we should travel with good heart to the joyful event of the Resurrection at Easter, to make room for the joyful heart to enter into us. After all the grace of God is knocking on the doors of our hearts, it is very near. It is an opportunity to turn once more to a welcoming Father; to a Father who wants to share with us his peace; the peace of Easter and the new hope.

Light a candle and enter into some prayer, no matter how little. God is always waiting to hear from us. The season allows us to do a small bit of harrowing of our heart, a bit of sowing of seeds of faith, hope and love into our lives. A time to shake ourselves up a small bit, to re-engage with the passionate love of our Saviour for each one of us.

It is also a season to re-enter into communion with our sisters and brother in the faith, those around us and those around the world with the opportunity to reach out materially and in prayer to those in need.
The ashes of Ash Wednesday are a reminder of our need to turn once more to God, to put him first in our lives as best we can as we take once more to heart the message of the psalm:

Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervor sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways
and sinners may return to you.

O rescue me, God, my helper,
and my tongue shall ring out your goodness.
O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall declare your praise.

For in sacrifice you take no delight,
burnt offering from me you would refuse;
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit,
a humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.

Walk with Joyful heart with Jesus and Mary. Open your hearts and believe in the Resurrection

The Readings of the Day.

Reflections on the day and the readings of the day from the English Dominicans and from Renewal ministries.

Some further resources and reflections for Lent and Ash Wednesday:

• FAQ on Lent from Patheos
• David Mills says "Just give it up"!
• Praying Lent - An online ministry of Creighton University
• Last years post from Sacred Space 102fm which had resources, Q&A about Lent, videos and some suggested reading for Lent.
• Check out Philomena over at Blue Eyed Ennis as she has some excellent links and resources for Lent and check in daily as it is a rare day that passes by without her having some reflection or poetry that will hit the spot! Two examples which she highlighted during the week were reflections from Fr Ron Rolheiser "The Ashes of Lent" and "Entering Lent"
• Our other posting about Lenten resources including the Ignatian Prayer Adventure which is being conducted over Lent but which you can join in at any stage.
• A few other bits and pieces from the Jesuits.
• Reading recommedations from Godzdogz
• On Ashes, Penance and Politics from Beginning to Pray

Going on line will show that there are hundreds of resources, reflections and suggestions for Lent. Our suggestion, have a look at a few and pick one and let that be the bit of "harrowing of the soul"  that you do for Lent.

UPDATES:

H/T People for Others:

"The Great Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian.”

O Lord and Master of my life!

Take from me the spirit of sloth,
faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk.

But give rather the spirit of chastity,
humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.

Yea, Lord and King! Grant me to see my own errors
and not to judge my brother,
for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.

Some other links from around the web:

• egregious twaddle reflects on Dust, Remember; A memento mori
• What can Orthodox and Muslims teach us about fasting?
• The Anchoress has a round up of reflections and links as well as some reading recommendations for Lent
• Dating God reports Thomas Merton and Ash Wednesday

Busted Halo: Ash Wednesday and Lent in two minutes!

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York on Ash Wednesday and Lent

You’re watching You’ve Got Archbishop Timothy Dolan.