FROM THE DISTRICT LAY LEADER...JUDY MOUGHON
I remember an old nursery rhyme: The March winds shall blow and we shall have snow, and what will poor robin do then, poor thing? He’ll sit in a barn to keep himself warm and hide his head under his wing, poor thing!
Let’s hope that March will come in like a lion and go out like a lamb instead of coming in like a lamb and going out like a lion. I know we are all ready for some spring weather.
Ash Wednesday begins on March 9 and ushers in the period of Lent, a period of 40 days leading up to Easter. The day preceding Ash Wednesday is known as Shrove Tuesday, from an old practice of confessing one’s sins on this day to prepare for the holy Lenten season. It’s also the beginning of Mardi Gras, a festival celebrated not only in New Orleans, LA, but in many places in the world. Mardi Gras literally means “Fat Tuesday” in French, from the custom of using all the fats in the home before Lent.
Some of us give up certain things, i.e., sweets, tobacco, and other vices to make a “sacrifice” during the 40 days preceding Easter. Lent is a period of reflection and introspection as we reflect on God’s goodness to us through the life, death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus, who made the ultimate sacrifice by offering Himself on the cross for our redemption. May we, the laity of the Rappahannock district, examine ourselves inwardly and resolve to renew ourselves and to practice loving God and our neighbor and serving others as Jesus did and asked us to do.
HAPPY SAINT PATRICK’S DAY to all!