Black Heads

I almost forgot. It would have been nice to forget just a little while longer, but social media tends to do that thing--the reminding thing--just in case forgetting happens.

Lent is upon us.

First, in case anyone for some reason has no idea what Lent is, let me explain.

Lent is a religious observance by many denominations of Christianity in which a person part of the faith is pushed to fast for 40 straight days to commemorate that time our Lord and savior Cthulu died on a Friday and rose from the dead on a (Easter) Sunday. He died a giant squid and came back as a human...or something like that--wait, that might be Budhism. Honestly, I forget anymore.

Oh, and the best way to start this process? Rub some burnt tree on your face. The only way.

When I was a wee lad, I was raised as a Catholic--a denomination of Christianity that partakes in this religious observance. So, every Lenten season my grade school would take us to the church around the corner on "Ash Wednesday" to put burnt tree on our face. Everyone basically hated it. The adults pretended not to hate it, and the kids didn't even understand why it was happening so, of course, they hated it, too. Oh, and never (purposely) wipe off the ashes at any point during the day. That's like 10 years of black cats or something. Was it black cats, or did I just make that up? Ah, whatever. It's religion, anyway: Where everything's made up, and the facts don't matter.

Hopefully, before you rub burnt stuff on your face, you also make sure to think of something to quit for those 40 days--as if eating small wasn't enough torture. I always played this game smart when I was younger. "I'll just quit something I don't really like or have that much of anyway: like chocolate!"
Telling someone you gave up chocolate for Lent was a big deal, though! They'd respond like, "Woah, you did not just...no way...HEY EVERYONE! PAT GAVE UP CHOCOLATE!" And then they'd pick me up in a sea of people--like after the game winning/World Series winning pitch by a starter--and praise me. Sometimes I would last the whole Lenten season without chocolate. Other times I'd forget Lent existed.

Later in my life I stopped celebrating (I'd argue it's far from a celebration, but I digress...). Soon, I'd practically forget that it was a thing. I mean, as with all religions, do I understand the meaning and the acknowledgment behind the observance for people who practice? Yes. However, I'm a skeptic.  There are some things--like starving yourselves and giving things up (most of which people hardly do anyway)--that don't sound like "God" to me. That's why everyone is doing these things, in case that wasn't clear.

This isn't my idea of God, anyway. Hmm, maybe I should write about "my idea of God."

I think I'll call it, "El Biblay: Partie Deux." And then in 2000 or so years people will get REALLY wealthy off of my "teachings." Not to mention tax breaks.

Yeah. *nods* Tax breaks.

- PatInTheMitre

Update: A co-worker of mine went to get their ashes at lunch time. They returned to tell me that a priest told her that he felt that if more people wore ashes all year round there would be less road rage.

Yeah.

Right.