On Ash Wednesday & Valentine's Day
The collision of Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day has provided no small amount of amusement for those who adhere to the Church Calendar [for example, this article in America: The Jesuit Review ] . What could Valentine's Day have to do with the beginning of Lent, which can be characterized as a somber time of trying, and mostly failing, to feel guilty about your failings and ditch something you enjoy for 40 days? In this part of the world, Ash Wednesday falls seasonally on the border between winter and spring, which is particularly pronounced in the Great Plains. It is a time of transition between death and life in our physical world, of turning from winter and that which is old and decaying and beginning to face the possibility of spring and new growth. Lent is a time of preparation, a spring cleaning for the soul and self, so to speak. In order to grow and live into the new life made possible by the resurrection of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit, we need to regularl...