Getting My Affairs in Order

          No, I’m not dying.  Au contraire, Facebook just told me that I’m not going to die for another 48 years.  That said, the Goo Goo Cluster ice cream topped with chocolate-covered pretzels that I’m scarfing down in one last Fat Tuesday binge might hasten things a bit.  No, I’m getting my affairs in order for Ash Wednesday and Lent by thumbing through a little book made just for persnickety folks like me:  The Order of Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours and Celebration of the Eucharist, a.k.a, The Ordo.  The Ordo may well be the priest’s, deacon’s and compulsive liturgist’s best friend.  It tells us pretty much everything we need to know about the liturgies for every single day of the year – what prayers to pray; what readings to read; what color to wear; and a whole host of other handy factoids that keep our liturgies in good order.

          Among my favorite features of The Ordo are the instructions and reflections that precede each liturgical season.  The instructions provide a nice synopsis of the liturgical celebrations along with the “do’s and don’ts” of each season, which are especially important during the decidedly-subdued season of Lent.  The reflections help direct my mind and heart by giving me a better understanding of the upcoming season spiritually and liturgically.  I can now attest that reading the reflections while eating the aforementioned ice cream and chocolate covered pretzels is particularly enjoyable, albeit somewhat messy.    

This year’s Lenten reflection speaks of how the weekday readings during Lent fall into two parts.  The readings for the first part of Lent are intended to bring us to compunction.  Compunction, The Ordo tells us, “is etymologically related to the verb ‘to puncture’ and suggests the deflation of our inflated egos.”  These readings force us to confront our illusions about ourselves and make us profoundly aware of our need for salvation.  The readings for the second part of Lent lead us to the only one who can save us from ourselves and the power of sin, Jesus Christ.  So the message of our Lenten readings in a nutshell is:  “Jesus can only save those who know their need for salvation.”  

   

Lent is a call to humility, a time to get our affairs in order.  It begins on Ash Wednesday with the imposition of ashes, an ancient act of penitence in the Judeo-Christian tradition.  Then, through the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we are called to confront our sinfulness, to deflate our egos, and to repent and believe in the Gospel.  By doing so, we get our affairs in order; we empty ourselves of self, and open ourselves to receive the gift of salvation.

          On Ash Wednesday, The Ordo tells us that the color is violet; the Mass is Proper; the penitential act is omitted; that there are Lenten prefaces, the blessing and imposition of ashes and a prayer over the people.  More poignantly, it offers two options for the words we recite during the imposition of ashes: “Repent and believe in the Gospel” or “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.”  I tend to use the latter formula, not as an admonition to those who present themselves to me for ashes, but as a reminder to myself.  If past is prologue, I will be blessed with the opportunity to impose ashes on the foreheads of several hundred humble, faithful people.  As I repeat those words over and over again on Ash Wednesday, I'll  pray that I will also heed them this Lent by deflating my ego, repenting and getting my affairs in order.