Mardi Gras

The day before Ash Wednesday has come to be known as "Fat Tuesday" (Mardi Gras) or Carnival (Farewell to meat..."Carne Vale"..).  It is celebrated with great gusto around the world, and notably in New Orleans where a million people are expected to join in the revelry...a last fling before the austerities of Lent.  If Lent is taken seriously, it doesn't hurt to let festivity have its day, for forty days in the "desert" can be taxing, although, if taken in the right spirit, invigorating and life-giving as well.  As we go about our day, taking time to thank God for its blessings, even those in the form of surprises yet to unfold; thank God for the opportunity to hunker down to a serious effort to draw closer to him via prayer, penance (the "giving up" aspect of Lent) and alms giving; and finally, to decide, even write down our goals for Lent...as if we were "doing Lent" for the first time. We don't want to overload our plates, but take on things we can do, and things that will sharpen our relationship with God and our neighbor.  How to put the Great Commandment of Love of God and Love of Neighbor to work in our lives as never before, might lead us to a series of concrete actions that will help us take up our cross and follow Jesus. There are many resources available to help us, one very good one, for example, at this link:  http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Lent/index.html  
The network of daily readers of these humble pieces of bread is so broad, I cannot measure it, but we might keep each other in mind and prayer as we "mardi gras" today and during the entire season of Lent.
Bro. Rene