A Season of Reflection

Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent for Christians.  It is a time for reflection, for fasting, for thinking about the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.  There was a time, not too long ago, that many people made a sacrifice of sorts during Lent by giving up something in their life that was important to them.  Some gave up smoking, or chocolate, or going out on Friday nights, or drinking, or even talking on the phone with friends.  People also revived the Catholic tradition of ‘no meat’ Fridays and this tradition still lives on in the St Louis area.

There is a major competition amongst the St Louis area Catholic churches to have the best Friday evening fish fry.  We usually go to the two churches closest to us but have gone afield to some within a 10 mile radius when we hear of one with a particularly good reputation..  Several years ago when people became concerned about fried food, many of the churches started offering broiled or baked fish as well as the fried fish.  Most of the dinners also include meatless spaghetti, some type of potato, slaw, beans, and assorted vegetables.  They all also have home made desserts. 

The good part of the dinners for us is we can get the food ‘to go.’  We have car picnics on Fridays throughout the Lenten season and get to watch winter turn into spring.  We get the food, drive to the nearby park and park the car near the lake so we can watch the sunset as we eat.  Sometimes we take a walk after eating but it depends on the weather.  Usually at the start of Lent the weather is pretty cold and can even be snowy.  By the end of Lent, the trees are budding, there are some flowers blooming and the temperatures reach into the upper 60s.

The season of Lent is in many ways a physical transformation similar to the spiritual transformation of the story of Christ.  From the darkness of winter to the fullness of spring, from death to life.  I look forward to this time each year for the car picnics, the changing of the seasons, and the renewal of my faith.