Ash Wednesday

I'm taking a break from my yoga pose Wednesdays for this holy day.

This morning I went to a staff/faculty chapel at work. It was a special chapel today since it was about Ash Wednesday. I was a bit surprised when I got the e-mail that chapel was going to be about this Catholic holiday. Working at an evangelical institution I don't expect them to observe any century old traditions.

When I got to the chapel I was joined by some former co-workers from my old office and I told them about my intrigue of the institution's observance of the holiday. I guess not to my surprise, they didn't know what Ash Wednesday was. I wasn't sure how to reply when they asked what it was. I didn't give an answer since the campus pastor was about to begin. One of them quickly asked the person in the other row and she said that it marks the beginning of Lent. Her statement was true, but it's more than that. I could have answered their question, but I would have given them a loaded response and I probably wouldn't have been very coherent.

I want to go more into my experience in chapel today, but to keep myself out of any trouble I'm just going to say this. It was like any other chapel. In the Diocese of Orange, of which I am a parishioner, there is a slogan or motto. It goes "Proud to be Catholic in Orange County." I would have to say my experiences at work give me a better sense of why I love my faith. I believe it is through our differences that we can learn from each other. Or better yet, it is through our differences that we can better understand who we are as individuals. Thus, this is why diversity is so important.

About the picture:
This is Monsignor Michael McKiernan. For the over half a decade he was building a cathedral. However, after the purchase of the Crystal Cathedral by the Diocese of Orange, the future site of the cathedral in Orange County was no longer the church Msgr. Michael was leading. Msgr. Michael is a great priest. He freshens the church experience and I think this is a wonderful asset to have when building a parish from the ground up.