Twilight Twitches

Dear Family,
So how did your smudginess turn out? If you’re a visitor, don’t worry. You’re not supposed to know that smudge means ashes. I hoped that seeing someone marked with ashes would help me remember to “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”

I’m always amazed how many people come for ashes (and the palms that make them). Is it that we need something tangible to hold on to?  Whatever it takes, once again, we want to accept the challenge of Lent. During the first half of Lent, we look at ourselves. In the second half we look at Jesus and what his life and death means for us. Looking at ourselves with honestly will make it easier for us to see Jesus clearly. How do we do that? We “do” Lent!

Dear Family,
We begin Lent on Wednesday. We will celebrate Mass at 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and distribute ashes after each of the celebrations. We will also have some small envelopes with ashes which you may bring home for folk who are unable to attend Mass through illness, etc.

The person who marks your forehead with the ashes challenges us gently by saying, “Repent and  believe in the gospel.” Another longstanding option is, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

I like the first option better because at this stage of my life, I want to think about preparing to meet the Lord, not becoming a pile of dust. After all, ‘gospel’ means ‘good news.’ The good news is that I am loved by God.  In the gospel, God, through Jesus, is constantly sending an invitation of love. For us on Ash Wednesday, the invitation is reflected in the words, “Repent and believe in the gospel.”

Dear Family,
No words will express the gratitude I’ve been feeling every since the descent of the Irish upon the parish in the persons of Phil Coulter, Andy Cooney, and their gifted troop. Then add to that the Shepherd’s Pie from the Kitchens of Waxy O’Connor’s and you have the makings of a great time. And yes, it was had by all.

Thank you Mark and Noreen Rohleder, (Waxy’s shepherds) for your kindness in providing a great meal. Someone even made a couple of special ‘tubes’ of the leftover dinner which I thoroughly enjoyed on the weekend.

You wouldn’t think that those crazy Latins Sue and Scott Martinez would get into the Irish thing so well, but they brought their generosity into setting up the kitchen and shuffling trays of food all around.

Dear Family,
Week after week, there are few things more than writing the Twitch ahead of time that remind me about how we never know what is coming. Somehow, I must write about things that haven’t happened as though they had. I can just hear someone out there saying, “Poor baby. If that’s the only problem he’s got, he should be doing jigs down the center aisle.” Trust me, you’ll never see that happening.

Of course, I’m thinking about the great night we had/will have with Phil Coulter and Andy Cooney. Presumption? Judging from the distances people travelled to join us, I expect the Irishmen and women who formed the company did not disappoint with their performance.

We know Andy from past years and having him teamed up with Phil is a special event indeed. It will be (was) a personal pleasure to see ‘live’ Phil’s piano wizardry.