For me Lent is about emptying–a glass, a basket, a soul–so that it can be filled up again…with wine (or sparkling cider), peeps (think Easter basket), and hope. The forty days before Easter is one big humbling exercise–where you remind yourself that without God, you’re nothing but a pile of cinders. “Don’t kid yourselves, guys,” […]

This blog post has been also featured as a Beliefnet gallery. To get there click here. Lent, the 40 days preceding the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, is supposed to be a time of fasting, where we chocoholics take an “s” of out the word “dessert,” and are left with “desert.” I heard somewhere […]

I like to repost this article written by a reader, Dania, every Lent. There is a dark smudge on my forehead. I am acutely aware of it. It feels kinda slimy. And people notice. This year, I’m not sure I want them to. There are plenty of years I’ve wanted people to notice the ashes […]