Forgivenss Vespers/ Clean Monday/ First Tuesday of Lent

For the past few years, I have been greeted by the Great Fast by the same thing, a massive caffeine headache. Actually, this year it wasn't as bad as it has been before. I remember my sophomore year of college; I must have been completely addicted to pop because I was curled up in a ball on my bed with such a bad headache. This year, it just started bothering me later in the evening. I must be making progress!

The first day of the Great Fast is known as Clean Monday. We refer to this as "Clean Monday" because it refers to the spiritual cleansing that we will go through during the course of the Fast. Clean Monday began on Sunday night with Forgiveness Vespers. Part way through the vespers service the altar cloths and clergy vestments are changed from gold to dark red for Lent. The melody used for the litanies and psalms also changes to a more solemn one. At the end of the service everyone processes up to the priest (in my case Fr. Thomas Loya) and we say "Father forgive me a sinner" and he replies "May God forgive you" while we embrace and kiss each other three times. Then we form a line and everyone asks forgiveness of everyone before Lent begins.

To be honest, I always feel so awkward coming up to this part. Do I really have to hug all of these people? I'm pretty sure that when I cursed in the car the other day I didn't do it to that lady that sits across from me. So why do I have to ask for her forgiveness? We do this so that we may begin the Fast peacefully. At our parish of Annunciation of the Mother of God in Homer Glen, Illinois, the process always ends up being heartfelt but a little fun at the same time. We are a pretty close knit group and almost everyone knows one another.

I was blessed to be able to be home for the beginning of the Fast because I had a doctor's appointment on Monday. On Christmas Eve (of all days!) I was in a car accident and broke my foot. My Christmas break from school was filled with Dr.'s visits, surgery to put a plate in my foot and me, hobbling around on crutches. But I am blessed. My experience has taught me a great deal of humility. I am a pretty independent person, I don't enjoy asking people for help, but this was a time when I needed help and I had to learn to ask for it. It was also humbling for me because it truly showed me that we run on God's schedule and not the other way around. I had so many plans for my break. The accident really made me slow down, think about things and it also made me very excited to return to school. Today I was given the OK from my doctor to kick off my boot and drive my car again, so back to school I went.

Last Friday, I decided that my dorm room was lacking an Icon/Prayer Corner. I have about six Icons or so and I just have them propped up on my desk. I'm fortunate enough to live in a Catholic dorm and we have access to a chapel 24/7, but sometimes, I'm sad to say, it just takes a lot of energy to walk down there at 2am. I also feel a little strange sitting there in this rather large chapel. To me, Eastern Prayers are extremely intimate and I feel most comfortable saying them aloud in an intimate setting, hence the prayer table in my room. I'm quite proud of my little set up. I went to Target and picked up a TV tray ($8.99), a red place mat ($2.89 on sale!) and some "flameless" candles because we aren't allowed to have real candles in the dorm. I set up my icons and my prayer book and voila! instant prayer corner. I've gotten many compliments on it and I have been wondering why it took me 4 years to have one in my room. The picture at the beginning of my post is my prayer/icon table.

The readings for Tuesday are from Isaiah 1:19-2:3, Genesis 1:14-23, and Proverbs 1:20-33. We start with the very beginning of Genesis and work our way through the book during the Fast. In Isaiah we read the lines "Come, let us climb the Lord's mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths." I really enjoy this line because I think it related particularly well to the Fast. It reminds us all that Lent is a journey.