Thursday Thirteen #8 - Lent edition

I can't help it. I'm addicted to the Thursday Thirteen. And then I find out today this is the LAST Edition! Waaa.

Thirteen Great Things about Lent A small display of my faith tradition today. I realized the other night at Mass, I feel guilty and 'unworthy' a lot: Catholicism still works! Hee. I'm joking. Anyway, I guess I'm "giving up" Starbucks this year, just for tradition of giving up something. But there's more to Lent than that. Here are some of my favorite things. 13. Ya can't have Fat Tuesday without Ash Wednesday, and Fat Tuesday is pretty darn fun! We used to go to New Orleans when I was a kid. 12. Praying Lent by Creighton U. I think I've used it for 3 years now to help me with the *prayer* part of the season. 11. The Thursday between Ash Wednesday and that first Friday -- you get to eat whatever you want, no restrictions. It's somehow a "relief" that you get this one day in between. 10. Going through the OCIA program in Lent is very meaningful; I got to do it as a sponsor for a dear friend who was being confirmed one year 9. Friday Fish Fry! All over America. We should go to our parish one this year. 8. Also: peanut butter and jelly, anyone? YUM. 7. Stations of the Cross on Fridays of my childhood 6. Running into other people with ashes on their heads on Ash Wednesday. (At my college there was an interdenominational Ash Wednesday service; so lots of people were showing their Jesus-spirit on those days!) 5. Seeing boxes of Matzoh and Passover foods on display in the grocery store. A special little bond with our Jewish ancestors and friends. At least that's how I think of it. 4. Speaking of the Seder, in my (Catholic) elementary school we had a whole-school Passover Meal every year. Picture "dinner tables" in the school gym, lights dimmed, candles. It was mysterious and interesting, and we read the stories and ate PARSLEY (bitter herb). :) 3. The good feeling you get if you go to after you go to Confession. 2. We don't have to sing the gosh-dang Haugen MASS OF CREATION for six whole weeks! HALLELU….. I mean, oops. GLORY TO GOD for that! (No Celtic Alleluia, either!) 1. Learning that Lent isn't supposed to be an entire 6 weeks of misery, but a time to deepen your relationship with Christ and prepare for his most Blessed Passion and Resurrection Day (grown-up Lent! I'm still trying to get there)...