ash wednesday

and so begins lent.

brooke and i went down to the church service at st. luke's catholic church. it was my first time in an actual catholic service (i've been to a couple of weddings) and i felt close to home when many of the liturgical phrases were the same as those used in the episcopal services i've occasionally frequented. the priest's sermon was very good - started with some humor and had more sprinkled throughout, quoted some early church fathers and added one of their stories, and towards the end had a point about welcoming criticism with an open ear that hit home. they had a deacon at the back who administered the ashes and then we went ahead and slipped out. a well spent 30-40 minutes that started what could be a very trying lent for me.