Dateline: February 25, 2009

Today Bishop Eniman made the startling announcement that Ashes would no longer be permitted in his diocese. His Vicar General issued the following statement:

Every year on Ash Wednesday we subject the general Catholic populace to Ashes. It’s even worse for those Catholics who think that Ash Wednesday, like Christmas and Easter, is one of the only days they need to show up for Mass. Seriously, why would we want to put them through this? It only makes them more likely to never come back.

When asked for further clarification on the matter, Bishop Eniman stated that “Look, we know that choirs are especially fond of Ashes but what are we telling people when we sing ‘we raise ourselves from ashes and create ourselves anew?’ If that’s the case, why did Christ bother to die? He obviously didn’t consult a choir director or liturgist before sacrificing Himself for us. If you don’t like this decision, just wait: guitars and tambourines are next.”

And then I woke up. Sigh…

That we get through ONE ASH WEDNESDAY WITHOUT BEING SUBJECTED TO “ASHES”?

- Book of Genesis 3:19

Day By Day Through Lent: Reflections, Prayers, Practices Author: Fr. Daneil Lowery	Journey To Easter: Spiritual Reflections for the Lenten Season Author: Pope Benedict XVI
The Magnificat Lenten Companion, Lent 2008 Author: Magnificat Magazine	Lent and Easter Wisdom from G. K. Chesterton Author: G. K. Chesterton
Fire In The Cloud: Lenten Meditations Author: Fr. Francis Martin	Season of Mercy: Lent and Easter with Catherine Doherty Author: Catherine Doherty
The Essential Lenten Handbook: A Daily Companion Author: The Redemptorists	A Family Journey With Jesus Through Lent: Prayers and Activities for Each Day Author: Angela Burrin

“The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church’s penitential practice. These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works). ”

- Catechism of the Catholic Church 1438

“Fasting and Penance were used by the ancients to express contrition, and to assist them in controlling their natural urges. This message of humble self-abnegation runs counter to our culture’s emphasis on satisfying any and every desire we might feel. The Church’s penitential traditions are intended to help us become more conscious of – and more contrite about – our sins, as well as help us conquer our impulses and desires as the holy ones did in ancient times. ”

–Gregory Oatis “Catholic Doctrine in Scripture”

2008 Mary and the Saints Calendar	Icons: Windows to Heaven 2008 Calendar
St. Joseph Sunday Missal And Hymnal For 2008	Abide In My Word 2008; Mass Readings at Your Fingertips

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Prayer Before a Crucifix – a traditional Lenten prayer

BEHOLD, O good and sweetest Jesus,I cast myself upon my knees in Thy sight,and with the most fervent desire of my soulI pray and beseech Thee

to impress upon my heart

lively sentiments of faith,

hope and charity,

with true repentance for my sins

and a most firm desire of amendment:

whilst with deep affection and grief of soul

I consider within myself

and mentally contemplate Thy five most precious Wounds,

having before mine eyes that which David, the prophet,

long ago spoke in Thine own person concerning Thee,

my Jesus: “They have pierced My hands and My feet,

they have numbered all My bones.”

Amen.

We wish you a blessed season of Lent.

It should. This is the earliest date for Ash Wednesday since 1856 1913.

A little more information on determining the date of Easter (and therefore, the date of Ash Wednesday which falls 46 days before Easter).

The basic rule for determining the date for Easter is that it is on the first Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or after March 21st. The beginning date, March 21st, was chosen because it is usually the vernal equinox (generally, the first day of Spring). This means that the earliest day of the year that Easter can occur is, of course, March 22nd. Also, because of the regularity of lunar cycles, it can never occur later than April 25th.

Now the ecclesiastical full moon can actually be at a different time than the actual astronomical full moon at least for various locations. This is a result of that confusing confluence of time and space that is known as the international date line. The full moon, at locations near the date-line can occur at the same time on two different days. Be that as it may, the ecclesiastics, perhaps wisely, ignore this anomaly.

The current formula for Easter’s date was first developed at the Council of Nicea (convened by Constantine the Great) in 325 A.D. But it was then applied to the Julian Calendar (developed under the Roman Empire). Because there was no leap year to keep the actual year aligned with the calendar year, the date for the vernal equinox would seem to advance at a steady rate through the calendar over the years. Had not Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 executed a reform of the calendar that kept it steadily aligned with the actual astronomical year, Easter, being based on the vernal equinox, would also have lost all consistency of date.

Source

If you like math, then here is a site that gives you all the numbers behind figuring out the date of Easter for both the Roman and Orthodox churches.

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You may be interested in getting some Lenten reading now since Lent is approaching so fast.