Lol ... you should look East ;-) They celebrate Ash Monday, so you get an early start on Lent. In the Maronite Tradition, immediately following the Readings and the Creed, the priest blesses the ashes, then sprinkles Holy Water on them. He then mixes them to the proper consistency and "paints" these in the form of a cross on the foreheads of ALL present (yes, even the infants) repeating the same phrase: "Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return". Perhaps you can suggest this 'formula' to your parish priest for next year's Ash Wednesday.
As an aside, I stepped outside at one point today and heard a young child YELL out to a passerby - "Hey, you've got something on your forehead". To which he replied: "Yes, I know".
I made the mistake of asking about it last year because they had run out of tuna melts and Jim started ranting about how evil God was so I didn't bring it up this year.
Next year, try something different, like middle eastern dishes. Hommous and Tabouli or Felafel served up in a wrap with lettuce, tomatos and tahini sauce ... yum! These will scintillate your palate while meeting lenten regulations. They're absolutely delicious! The bonus, of course, is that you will be consuming the very same dishes once cooked by the Blessed Mother and served up to our Lord.
Well. I live in Johnson County KS. We used to be able to go about two miles to a wonderful middle eastern restaurant but it closed. Now it would take a trip to Westport which is more of a commitment than I want but I am thinking about some of the really good Indian restaurants in the neighborhood.
Me (big wink) - "Well, I ain't Buddhist . . ."
He was Catholic too. We had a lot of fun talking about the nuns in his grade school and our respective parishes.
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What a good idea! I do get tired of tuna salad. Last Friday, Mr. Trisham was inspired and made a shrimp pizza.