{"id":4686,"date":"2021-02-17T03:00:25","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T03:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/?p=4686"},"modified":"2025-03-05T21:29:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T21:29:36","slug":"ash-wednesday-2021-sprinkles-social-media-and-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/ash-wednesday-2021-sprinkles-social-media-and-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Ash Wednesday 2021: Sprinkles, Social Media and Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Today is Ash Wednesday. The COVID-19 pandemic is still in progress, so this one will be a bit different.<\/p>\n

I’ll still get ash on my head. But instead of getting a thumb-drawn cross on my forehead, I’ll get a sprinkling on my head. Seems that this offends and affronts some Catholics.<\/p>\n

Me? I’d prefer getting that cross on my forehead this year.<\/p>\n

But I’m okay with doing what I can and not fussing \u2014 to excess \u2014 at what I can’t. And letting the Pope and bishops sort out policy during a pandemic.<\/p>\n

Speaking of doing what I can, fasting \u2014 apart from meatless Fridays or similar ‘quality’ rather than ‘quality’ changes \u2014 isn’t, medically, a good idea. Not for me.<\/p>\n

I talked about this a couple years back. (March 2, 2019<\/a>)<\/p>\n

And I put links to Lenten resources at the end of this journal entry.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

<\/a>Doing What I Can<\/h4>\n

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Happily, harming myself isn’t required. The Church recognizes age and disease, makes allowances \u2014 and has rules for this sort of thing. Seems I’m too old and too sick for the full fasting experience.<\/p>\n

Which leaves me with working out what I will<\/strong> do for Lent this year. Apart from an extra set of prayers and meditations \u2014 which I’ll talk about another day. Maybe.<\/p>\n

I also plan on changing my online habits during Lent.<\/p>\n

If I thought I was overwhelmed by “information overload,” or feared that “loss of identity,” maybe I’d cut back or simply cut out Internet activity. I’m not feeling overwhelmed, and I’m too emphatically “me” to fear loss of identity.<\/p>\n

So I’ll continue researching and writing. And plan on adding something new: making a point of reading what a few bloggers write, can commenting when it seems appropriate.<\/p>\n

I’ve talked about social media, being Catholic and making sense before:<\/p>\n