March 6, 2017
Ash Wednesday
It wasn’t exactly quiet, but it was more subdued. The last four days I basically stayed in my apartment. My church went on a four-day retreat. I am such an introvert that I decided to stay home rather than attempt to use my poor Spanish for four days. I went to the grocery store once and out to eat with Sandra, but mostly I stayed inside writing and watching Netflix.
Carnival was noisy. Since I arrived back in Bolivia on February 15, it seemed that there was music playing everywhere. Some of it was the traditional Carnival music of Bolivia, while some it was just loud party music. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights the music continued until 3:00 or later in the morning. Tuesday night the music was louder. The nearest party was about 3 blocks away, but I could hear a man so obviously drunk that his singing made me laugh. But at 11:35, the party stopped. I heard nothing else all night.
I woke this morning around 7:00 and it seemed quiet, more like a Sunday morning than a Wednesday morning. It was the first day of the month, so I went to pay the bills that I could: rent, telephone, and internet. My other two bills, electricity and gas, will send me a bill sometime next week. I had a breakfast of fired yucca and a coke at my favorite restaurant on the Plaza.
Today is Ash Wednesday. That was the reason I went to the Plaza. I wanted to stop in the Cathedral. Maybe three dozen were inside, refreshed by a northerly breeze blowing in the door. Many were kneeling. A few were lighting candles before a statue of Christ on the cross. It made me think of the reason for Ash Wednesday.
Many Protestant churches ignore this holiday, though I think it should be celebrated along with Lent. What are these two holidays? I had to look them up, since the churches I grew up in never recognized them.
Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting 46 days before Easter Sunday. The idea is to fast for 40 days, mirroring the fast Jesus took in the desert. The 6 Sundays between Lent and Easter are considered feast days, so one does not fast on those days. Tradition in most churches encourages people to give up something of value. It often takes the form of meat, liquor, or sweets, but it can be anything that stands between you and God. Fasting is a conscious effort to do without and instead concentrate on God. It should be accompanied with prayer.
Many in South America see Carnival as a season of excess before a season of fasting. It’s like they say, “let’s party and do everything we are not supposed to do before Lent begins.” That’s why I don’t see Carnival as a religious holiday, part of the Easter season, any more than I see Halloween as a religious holiday starting the Christmas season. Nowhere in the bible does it condone partying to excess just before a religious holiday. I was told that sometimes a first child in a marriage can be traced back 9 months before the birth to Carnival. That’s not the way to start a family. I am not trying to disrespect the traditions of Carnival; the music, dancing, and bright colors are beautiful. It is the believe that excess is permitted that I don’t see as right.
But Ash Wednesday and Lent, to me, are good. What could be better than a season of reflection? A season of preparing one’s heart to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus? I look at the face of the old man praying in the Cathedral and wonder if he is faithfully waiting for his redemption. I see some more faithful than me, so I can’t judge. I feel at peace in the cool Cathedral this morning, sitting with others wanting to do something to show their faith in our Lord.
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