I admit to being very conflicted about Ash Wednesday. You see in Jamaica, Ash Wednesday is a very reflective, quiet, religious day (or so it was when I lived there). It is not uncommon to spend the entire day in six hours of church service, praying, fasting and taking communion. When I moved here I expected the same to hold. Ash Wednesday came and went before I knew it because the day was like every other day - business as usual.
Talk about culture shock. Where were the penitent church goers? Where were the churches filled to overflowing with people eager to hear the word? Some churches were not even open or if they were they did not maintain the presence that they usually do on a Sunday. But I should not behave as if there was no observation of same because I did have occasion to ride the bus and see persons come on with charcoal crosses fingerprinted on their foreheads at the intersection of their eyebrows - evidence that Christian devotion lives.
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