JustLove Ash Wednesday, 2015

Today’s Jeopardy answer is:

• Marc Anthony
• Cardinal Dolan
• 400 homeless men
• Jenny McCarthy
• Treadmill
• The MARC Hotel
• Burnt old palm
• Bread & wine
• All of the above

The question is:

What made up my Ash Wednesday, February 18, 2015?

Here are your clues:

 

 

 

 

• Around midnight as Mardi Gras turned into Ash Wednesday, singer Marc Anthony performed at a benefit gala I attended for an organization that helps homeless children.

• Then, as dawn broke, I joined Cardinal Dolan to distribute sandwiches to 400 homeless men and a score of women at St. Francis Church on W. 31^st

• Around 11:30 AM celebrity Jenny McCarthy interviewed me about Lent on her SiriusXM Stars radio show.

• As sundown approached, I celebrated Mass down the block from Grand Central.  It included bread and wine, as usual, but also a dash of ash burnt from the leaves of last year’s Palm Sunday branches.

• Then a quick workout at the New York Sports Club, a Lenten resolution.

(Not sure which category fits – prayer, fasting or charity).

• Dinner at the MARC Hotel with a doctor who lends her time and talent serving as a Board member for one of our Catholic Charities agencies that helps children with HIV/AIDS.

This is not a bad way to begin Lent – especially for a Gemini.

But I’ll bet that most of our lives are varied with work, family, friends, etc.  And that the multi-faceted person we call ourselves needs to have Lent as a time for a spiritual-selfie that includes as much depth of field as possible.

It’s simple: God wants all of us – not just a piece of us – to be transformed and know better his love and grace.

That’s why there are three traditional Lenten practices: prayer, fasting and almsgiving (charity).  They are all about relationships and focus on the three essentials to the human person – God, others and myself.

It’s not that complex. 

• Prayer – I talk to and listen to God.
• Charity or service – I think about and help meet another person’s needs.
• Fasting/sacrifice – I think about and focus on my wants and needs and decide to voluntarily forego something(s) so I can re-focus on what’s essential.

There are few guarantees but this one I am betting on.  Those who do these three Lenten practices – praying more, sacrificing more and helping others more — will find themselves in a better place when Easter comes around.

Try it – you’ll like it.  Get your friends to join in!

And now for our Jeopardy answer:

You guessed it.

• All of the above