Ash Wednesday

I went to Mass this morning at The Child's school. It was very nice, aside from the fact that they are big on singing hymns that no one has ever heard of before. But the readings and prayers were all done by students and I am always impressed to see how well behaved and prayerful the children are in church. Not like The Child's last school, where you're as likely to be hit by a spit ball as get the sign of peace. (OK, maybe it's not quite that bad but trust me, contemplative it wasn't).

Lent has begun. " Here in my dotage I'm running out of vices to give up in Lent. My focus this year is to make more time for prayer. Which will mean getting up earlier. Which is a sacrifice. I'm a big fan of sleeping.

I was enormously fortunate to come into the Church as an adult and to be catechized by people who had solid post-Vatican II sensibilities. Because I love Lent. It is a time of penance and fasting but the disciplines are not about mortifying ourselves. The ashes are a sign of our mortality and our penance, yes. But the injunction we hear at their imposition is "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel". This is a simple, disciplined time where we are called to focus more intently on how to better love God and by extension, each other.

I have a big cross of ashes on my forehead this morning. That makes me happy. Some years the minister is a little tentative and the ashes look like a smudge. People who see it think I've been gardening and haven't bothered to clean up. It can be a little funny to go out in the world on Ash Wednesday, since this isn't a predominantly Catholic city. People have a tendancy to look at you oddly. You can tell they are wondering if they should mention that you have a little something just there on your forehead. Not that I go out in the world all that much on Wednesdays but after mass I had to stop by the produce stand to pick up a potatoe and a courgette for tonight's soup. It wasn't too weird.

And there are the people who know what that ashen cross is all about. One Ash Wednesday a Jewish neighbor had come by and when I opened the door she took one look at me and said, "Oh, goodness, I have to get ready for Passover!"

Last night, just as I had settled down to my fresh episode of "Gilmore girls", the Mead St. Gang and their parents showed up at the door. They were all wearing masks and costumes, blowing on recorders and banging on drums. They swept The Child out with them, tambourine in hand, to parade around the block for Fat Tuesday. They had all had pancakes for dinner, too. I dared to suggest that next year we have a pancake race and the idea was warmly accepted. I can't wait!

Here is a soup recipe adapted from Jacques Pepin, which is very delicious even if you aren't fasting today:

"Instant" Vegetable Soup

4 servings

The ingredient list is not set in stone. Use whatever vegetables you have on hand. Use the large-holed side of a box grater to prepare the vegetables. Cheese is optional.

5 cups water
1-1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about half a zucchini)
1 cup shredded peeled carrot (about 1 carrot)
1 cup shredded onion (1 medium onion)
1 cup shredded white button mushrooms (2-4 mushrooms)
1/3 cup minced scallions (about 3 scallions)
2 cups (loosely packed) coarsely chopped greens (soft things like spinach or arugula)
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons instant grits
About 4 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup shredded Swiss (Gruyère) cheese (Parmesan works, too).

Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan.

Add all the vegetables to the boiling water along with the salt. Bring the soup back to a boil, uncovered, for 2 to 3 minutes.

Sprinkle the grits on top of the soup, reduce the heat to low, and cook gently for 2 to 3 minutes longer. (You will have about 6 cups.)

Serve hot in soup bowls, spooning about 1 teaspoon of the olive oil on each serving and topping each of the bowls with a few generous tablespoonfuls of the cheese.