No Longer A Lent Mass Virgin

I attended Mass last night with Jesee to celebrate Lent. Is that the proper term? Celebrate? I'm not sure, see...it was my first Lent Mass. I've been to a Christmas Midnight Mass and a Funeral Mass, but I've never been to a Lent Mass, so now, I'm no longer a Lent Mass Virgin. Pardon me, Virgin Mary.

Why'd I go if I'm not Catholic? Because, Jesse asked me if I wanted to go, and you know me, can't ever say no. Mass started at seven o'clock, we arrived around six o'thirty to get a seat up front. Jesse loves sitting near the front, he's very Catholic.

After arriving, Jesse then observed that the Spanish choir was setting up which meant that the Mass would be done in Spanish. And no, I don't speak Spanish. I picked up the little Mass book, and started practicing reading the responses, so I'd be able to chime in with the rest of everyone else.

The Spanish choir began to play...accordion, keyboard and Spanish guitars. I'll have to say, that the songs had this sorta upbeat tempo and I really enjoyed it. I pretended to know the words and mouthed along (I did know the melody).

Wow...the Catholics do a lot of kneeling and standing and sitting and kneeling and standing and sitting...and it all has something to do with this little chiming you hear. I responded as best as I could in Spanish, but while there was some down time (I call it this, because we were just watching the priest prepare communion) I turned to the English portion of the little Mass book and read the scriptures chosen for Lent.

Sacrifice, if done openly isn't really a sacrifice at all. If you seek praise from the people around you then you've received your reward. Let's say that Jesse and I have given up meat for Lent. So, if we go around looking all tired and worn out because we haven't had our meat, well, then that's not true sacrifice. You're supposed to stay all perky, and happy and dressed up nice.

Okay, so I was ready for my ashes. The ashes are from the Palms that are burned from the previous year's Palm Mass. They are saved and used for Lent. I got in line with everyone else and received my ashen mark on my forehead. Jesse told me that you are not supposed to wash the ashes off on purpose that you just let them wear off.

This worried me quite a bit. I think I worried too much about it. As I pondered these ashes, the priest finished preparing for the Communion. I wasn't supposed to partake of Communion because I hadn't gone through the Catechism. Instead, I crossed my arms in front of my chest and then I just received a blessing from the priest. Which I really needed, you can't get too many blessings.

Now I'm wondering if blessings are sorta like wishes. Can you save the blessing? Can you give the blessing to someone else? Can you use the blessing and ask for more blessings? Maybe I need to go to the Catechism to find out.