Ash Wednesday Thoughts

I never thought my Ash Wednesday reflection would begin with the Los Angeles Times, but it has. Tim Rutten quotes Cardinal Mahoney this morning:

According to the calendar, Ash Wednesday occurs [today] and we begin another Lent,” he writes. “Except for this year. Lent actually began in 2007 for many thousands of families all across the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and we have been in a long and protracted season of Lent ever since. . .

In prior years when life and our financial security were far more predictable, Lent meant that we could choose which special sacrifices we wanted to undertake — but just for six weeks, until Easter Sunday. And then back to normal. But now we have a new reality: We aren’t choosing our sacrifices this year, they have chosen us. And they aren’t just for six weeks; they have been our burden for over 75 weeks now with no sign of relief in sight.

I’m sure I could never express Ash Wednesday thoughts any better than this. Certainly, all of our citizens who are unemployed and face layoffs are praying in the words of the prophet Joel, “Spare, O LORD, your people, and make not your heritage a reproach, with the nations ruling over them! Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” (Joel 2:17-18)

And so, as I refrain from taking a second helping, or piece of cake, or my favorite selection of See’s candy, I would like to keep in mind those people who do not have the luxury of refraining from anything. As I head out this day on the long drive from San Francisco to Southern California ( a trek down Highway 5  that many might consider penitential), may I keep in mind those who are enslaved and imprisoned in sexual trafficking and do not have the luxury of freedom of movement.

May the things that I refrain from serve to make me more mindful of others. And may mindfulness become a practice that stays with me beyond Ash Wednesday, and well beyond Lent.