I've Decided.

I've made my goals for Lent. And every lent, I start out saying, "This is going to be the best lent ever!" and even though it started with my professor calling me an "Ash head" in a derogatory manner, I won't let it ruin it. And although I keep my relationship with God to myself, I think that there is some interesting information I have received that can be shared with everyone.

Plus, if I'm calling this "Project, What I Want to Be" I might as well keep track of my goals. :)

So, basically my goals of Lent are:
- To follow the three basic guides of lent (Fasting, Prayer and Alms)
- Relentlessly following what I've given up. (Swearing two years in a row. I need to stop swearing in front of my mom...)
- Putting money in the swear jar when I do slip up, and donating it when Lent is over (it's a communal jar. Kayla already put $5 in, hahahaha)
- Concentrating on Jesus and not other people (This especially applies today, when I had to realize that it didn't matter how many people criticized me for the ashes I wore on my forehead. What I am in His eyes is the only thing that counts)

At mass today, Father George gave me a lovely little Lent Companion called "The Little Black Book". It's a Vademecum (or "Travel with me" in Latin) and is a book you carry around for Lent. It's full of scripture, history and ideas to concentrate on for the next few weeks. It's excellent. Part of the little black book is a "Lectio Divina" which is one of my favorite things EVER. It's basically a way to concentrate on scripture. I won't include that on the blog, but if you want to see it/know what it's based on, shoot me a comment and I'll hook you up :)

Here's some information I liked on Ash Wednesday:

The use of ashes as a sign of penitence and remorse is rooted in Jewish tradition and carried over into Christianity. In some early churches, those who had committed serious sin would present themselves to their bishop on Ash Wednesday and he sprinkled Ashes on their hair shirts. They would then wear the shirt for the rest of lent as a public display of penitence. The custom of Ashes on the forehead became custom in the 11th Century. The 12th century brought the practice of burning the Palm Sunday branches of the previous year to make the ash. After the Reformation in the 16th century, many protestant churches discontinued the practice. But in recent decades, some Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist and Episcopal churches have reinstated the tradition.

Fasting also comes from Jewish practice. Jewish Law required fasting on Yom Kippur. However, some public fasts were held in the face of disaster (Famine, etc.) Some Jewish people fasted more often in private- some every Tuesday and Thursday.
For Christians, fasting can be seen as a way to ask God for what is needed or to do penitence for sins. But most importantly, it is done as a form of prayer. It helps us experience 1) our hunger for God 2) Our dependence on God (Food, like everything else, comes from Him) 3) Our weakness and frailty and 4) Our willingness to change some patterns in our life.

I think this will help make for a good lent. A better lent than last year. Last year, Suffering had an entirely different meaning, and although I felt close to Jesus in that suffering, I knew I was concentrating more on my own problems than I was on the sacrifice that Jesus made for me.

I'll try to update this a lot. If not every day, every few days. It's such interesting information...

Happy Lent,

Lauren