Happy Ash Wednesday! 

(Can we say happy Ash Wednesday?)

I've never minded walking around with ashes on my forehead, and no one's ever commented on it, except my boss's boss one year. He walked into our office around lunch and looked at the Catholics assembled, thought for a second, and said, "I didn't know you guys were Catholic." 

Ashes. A way of marking us out. :) 

So, we've talked a lot about Lent lately, and here's my plan: 

• I'm going to try to follow the Nuns of Summit, NJ horarium as best I can. No, I probably won't be getting up before 6 AM. But I said try. :) 
• No book buying. None. Nada. Zilch. (Except for the Women's Conference. I am making one exception, because it can be hard to find good Catholic books round these parts!)
• My Lenten reading is A Time for Renewal, by Mother Mary Francis, PCC; Death on a Friday Afternoon, by Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, and On the Passion of the Christ by Thomas a Kempis. I'll also be sure to watch Jesus of Nazareth and The Passion a few times. (Both of them are great, if you haven't seen them.) 
•