In ten days, it will be Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Ash Wednesday is always a very observed occasion for Catholics. It rivals Christmas and Easter for attendance and that’s good. It’s a day of penance, sorrow for our sins. The ashes we receive are to remind us that without the Lord all we have are ashes. The way to make the best of this occasion is to prepare. The way we prepare is with abstinence, the denying of our selves of our normal consumption of food. It is strange how the sensations of hunger help us to keep focused upon the “Day” and its purpose. The nutritional lack remind us of our spiritual lack and the short comings of our devotion to God. But the saints tell us that it also sharpens our spiritual perception. When fasting, we are more attune to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and the messages of Holy Scripture. Some advice; focus on the fast and its purpose, not the food. Your health or age may not allow you to fast from food. Then fast from something else, TV, the telephone, the internet, social media, the newspaper etc. It’s about self-denial, which causes us, with the Lord’s help, to grow in self-mastery. The ability to deny ourselves a good thing, strengthens us to deny the bad or evil. Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid