Lent?
What does it mean to you?
I did not grow up Catholic, much to my dismay. It's not that I appreciate most of what the Catholic church stands for but being a lover of beauty from an early age it just seemed right to me that worshiping God/Goddess/All That Is
should be done in a beautiful place and wow....Catholic churches are truly works of art.
The detail. The rituals.
I wanted the ashes on my forehead. I wanted the holy water splashed on me. I wanted to confess my secrets to the mysterious man in the box. I wanted to kneel on the bench and take communion. I wanted to learn how to make the sign of the cross on myself. I also LOVED Mary and how much she was represented. She was rarely talked about where I went to church, unless of course, it was Christmas Eve. Whenever I visited a Catholic church with friends growing up I was told not to do those things because I wasn't Catholic.
Don't kneel. Don't take communion. Don't cross yourself.
It seemed very serious business and I did not take it lightly.
I don't know what I thought might happen to me but I obeyed and watched with wide eyed wonder and a bit of envy at all the rituals that are part of the Catholic church. Lent was also something that I envied while growing up as it was not something we participated in. Can you believe it? I actually wanted to give something up. Again, it was the ritual I was intrigued by and still am. So this year I will celebrate lent. Many people honor the season of lent.
It is not just for Catholics,
should be done in a beautiful place and wow....Catholic churches are truly works of art.
The detail. The rituals.
I wanted the ashes on my forehead. I wanted the holy water splashed on me. I wanted to confess my secrets to the mysterious man in the box. I wanted to kneel on the bench and take communion. I wanted to learn how to make the sign of the cross on myself. I also LOVED Mary and how much she was represented. She was rarely talked about where I went to church, unless of course, it was Christmas Eve. Whenever I visited a Catholic church with friends growing up I was told not to do those things because I wasn't Catholic.
Don't kneel. Don't take communion. Don't cross yourself.
It seemed very serious business and I did not take it lightly.
I don't know what I thought might happen to me but I obeyed and watched with wide eyed wonder and a bit of envy at all the rituals that are part of the Catholic church. Lent was also something that I envied while growing up as it was not something we participated in. Can you believe it? I actually wanted to give something up. Again, it was the ritual I was intrigued by and still am. So this year I will celebrate lent. Many people honor the season of lent.
It is not just for Catholics,
and I have an idea......
I saw a Facebook post earlier that said to get a big, plastic garbage bag or a box and each day for the next 40 days (not counting Sundays) put something in the bag that you no longer want or use but something that would still be worthy of giving away. That beautiful sweater you just don't wear, that piece of art that doesn't speak to you anymore, those expensive shoes you HAD to have but have never worn....you get the idea. The good stuff. Then, at the end of 40 days you decide where you will donate this bag of treasures. Will it go to one place or will you give individual things away to specific people?
It doesn't matter.
You get to decide.
I really love this idea and I am going to join in the fun and lighten up my life. I am also going to blog each day for the next 40 days (not counting Sundays) and share with you where I am finding the sacred in the ordinary.
It doesn't matter.
You get to decide.
I really love this idea and I am going to join in the fun and lighten up my life. I am also going to blog each day for the next 40 days (not counting Sundays) and share with you where I am finding the sacred in the ordinary.
See that beautiful quote by Mary Oliver at the top left of my blog?
INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIVING A LIFE:
pay attention.
be astonished.
tell about it.
That was the intention of this blog when it first started and so that is what I plan to do.
I hope you can join me.
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