Wear the Cross Day

Today I saw many folks running around the Loop with the ash mark on their forehead. No, it's not the apocalypse. It's Ash Wednesday. I don't think I have ever received ashes on Ash Wednesday. Growing up, they would give us the cross during Sunday school. Anyway, I learned today that there are a lot of devout Catholics in downtown Chicago. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since this is a pretty Catholic town. For a while, I felt bad that I didn't get the ashes. That's the Catholic guilt creeping in. At the same time, I still hold on the personal belief that religion is more important as an internal force. Falling into a yearly routine takes the true meaning away from things.

My buddy Brendan asked me today: "what are you giving up for Lent?" I said I had no answer. I'm not questioning the sanctity of lent...but it seems to me that giving up something for a period of only 40 days is a cop out. Most people give up a guilty pleasure that they go back to in full force. The Catholics taught us that Jesus went without eating a thing for forty days and nights. That's a real sacrifice. Giving up chocolate is a sacrifice that benefits only the self...for only 40 days. I know I'm leaving a lot out of this argument, but I don't want to bore you. To me, I think people should give up something for good every lent. Drop a bad habit for the rest of your life...don't pretend that you can hold yourself back if you're going back to it come Easter Sunday. As football coaches say, "Go hard, or don't go at all." I think that should pertain to this celebration as well.

On the lighter side of things, I found seeing the cross on women walking around the loop an endearing thing. I'm not sure why I found that attractive. It's probably because I don't want to deal with conversions and what not when I do become a religious man. Meeting someone with the same religious upbringing as me would make things easier, in some unexplainable way. I don't quite get it.

. . [~] . 0 (Grumble) Grumbles .