"No More Ash" Wednesday

Is it me, or does Ash Wednesday sneak up earlier and earlier each year?

Now, don't worry for my soul or anything, I didn't forget. Was able to catch the noon liturgy at USC's Bovard Auditorium and got my ashes. Looked pretty good, actually. A far cry from some AW's at St. Pet's or Benet when the dispensers, in a rush to get through the entire student body before losing control of the mob, would leave me with a wonderful cross-shaped smudge. It looked more like a fly had spontaneously combusted on my forehead instead a symbol of repentance and faith.

It is interesting getting the ashes here in L.A., especially at USC. Since I went to Catholic grade school, Catholic high school, and a Jesuit college (jokes? oh, I've got jokes) its been pretty well assumed (by me) that a lot of people get ashes on Ash Wednesday. But at the University of Southern California there are no brothers or fathers running around teaching and the Catholics are a bit of a, dare I say, minority?

(Actually, they're not, at least not in LA, which has about a 40% Catholic population, which is pretty much where Chicago's at. I thought Chicago had a bigger Catholic population, but then I saw the numbers and remembered the whole "bonus" population living here in Los Angeles - crippling the state government but too integral to the state economy to remove! Welcome to Cali-fornia!)

Of course, many of my classmates, especially in the Cinema school, are not Catholic. Can you guess what is a prominent religion among my peers? Peers in HOLLYWOOD?

If you guessed Unitarian, you'd be dead wrong!

Anyway, it was a kinda funny to do a little educating to those who weren't familiar with the Catholic faith, and acted as a reminder that I'm not in sweet home Chicago anymore (though the 75 degree temps should have already tipped me off).

Of course, the big question is always "What you give up for Lent?" and, in all honesty, I usually don't give up stuff for Lent, and instead try to focus on giving something BACK.

Yeah, anyway, this year I decided to cut the bull**** and give up cigars.

Since my schedule isn't too insane this year I'm thinking this will be a reasonable, but difficult, challenge. I certainly don't want to make promises I can't keep and have a repeat of last year's broken Lenten promise to all of y'all. I also know myself too well to try and give up something crazy like booze, TV or Facebook.

Especially Facebook. I've got a bit of an obsessive habit with it and kinda need to stop putzing around on it so much and spend more time writing. But its such a valuable communication device these days that giving up the FB would be like giving up your cell phone or...or....your vocal chords! You wanna give up your vocal chords? No? GOOD! Then I don't need to give up Facebook!

So, yeah, delicious, robust cigars are out until Easter. Though if I do sin (nobody's perfect) nothing that a quick confession can't take care of!

Man, its got it issues, but I continue to dig Catholicism to this day. Now, if only it had a symbol that was a little happier....something that really POPS...





HAPPY LENT EVERYBODY!