Ash Wednesday 2022

I will never forget my first (and only) one-on-one voice lessons class. My instructor and I got along fine, but the music he wanted me to learn was all mushy renaissance love songs. I never practiced them, and subsequently didn’t get much out of the lessons. I look back and wonder, “why did I hate practicing those songs so much?”. I have practiced some ridiculous sounding stuff over the years. I have been a first soprano since I can remember, so it is normal for me to practice music pitched so high it is offensive to the people around me. Crazy leaps, difficult trills, you name it. So why that music? It wasn’t for God. For those who don’t know, I am a Senior in college, and a lot of people ask me what college has taught me. The thing I have learned that I will remember long past any of my classes, is how much value things loose when they are not done for God.

What does this have to do with Ash Wednesday?

A priest will mark people saying, "From dust you came and to dust you shall return." Image credit: Ahna Ziegler

Personally, I have never really been into the “New Year’s Resolutions”. Like most other people, I would make it a few days, maybe a week, before the wheels would fall off and I was back to my old habits. Lent on the other hand, is a different story. Some of the best changes that have occurred to my lifestyle started in lent and continued beyond. Why? Because they were done for God. I wish I could remember where I read it, but last year I followed Matthew Kelly’s advice so give something up every day (I did this in addition to sweets and required meatless days). While imperfectly executed, I was pleased at the difference it made in my ability to say “no” and develop self-control in subtle ways.

As this lent begins, I hope you will consider joining me in not only removing things, but also in adding good habits (like Best Lent Ever or Bible in a Year) to replace poor ones (like doom scrolling on social media). This is a critical step to success and perpetuation moving forward (Trade Bad Habits for Good Ones, 2016).

Join the conversation on Twitter: what habits need to go, and what is filling their place?

Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/FudeLogan/status/1499158586433282049?s=20&t=__d3704dtfodNumQdXWqEQ

Best Lent Ever 2022: https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/lent.html

Bible in a Year: https://media.ascensionpress.com/all-bible-in-a-year-episodes/

Trade bad habits for good ones: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/trade-bad-habits-for-good-ones