We’re called to be saints, but we’re sure not there yet. And a great help to get there is the sacrament of penance.
When I was a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Denver, I had my first opportunity to assist my forming priest in the distribution of ashes. It was one of the most dramatic examples for me of what John Paul II called "hollow ritualism." Not the rite itself or most of the people thoughtfully participating, but rather the handful who were just going through the motions, without much thought. It reached its highpoint (or maybe low point) when a woman approached me to receive ashes, threw her head back and stuck out her tongue! You don't know how tempted I was to ash her from tonsils to tip of tongue, but instead stretched to cross her head, an act which seemed to shock her back into conscious participation. Now, that I have been Catholic for 15 years, I am very much aware of the dangers of "reflex" reception, thinking of everything but Jesus when I am in the communion line. The image of her wagging tongue is a helpful reminder for me to be prepared and recollected when receiving the sacraments and the grace they offer.
Fasting is anything but fast. In fact it just drags on and on. Yesterday was a day of fast and abstinence and all I could think about all day long was breakfast on Thursday and how wonderful it was going to be even if it were just butter toast.When I went to the University of Akron a few friends of mine and I used to fast during lent for three days on nothing but water and juice. What made it particularly challenging was that the Wonder Bread factory is located just off the campus and the smell of baking bread would often waft across the campus. That alone should have knocked some quality time off of purgatory.
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