Just a little over two months ago, we celebrated Christmas and so soon thereafter is Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of the Lenten Season from today.

I went for my ashes at noon today. There were two priests at Mass with the younger one quite liberal with marking the forehead with the sign of the cross. It happened to be the case that I had to take my place in the queue before him and ended up with a dominant 2" x 2" mark, as did those who were in the same queue with me. Father's ashes were also quite wet, which kept the ashes stuck on my forehead for the rest of the day. I had to control the urge and mischief to cry Repent! everytime I caught a reflection of myself today.

There is a prayer called the Litany of Humility which my Mom taught me in preparation for Lent in order to understand and continue to develop one's intuitive spiritual relation to the significance of the season and the Divine, which I would now like to share with you.

"O JESUS! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

Deliver me
From the desire of being esteemed
From the desire of being loved
From the desire of being extolled
From the desire of being honoured
From the desire of being praised
From the desire of being preferred
From the desire of being consulted
From the desire of being approved
From the fear of being humiliated
From the fear of being despised
From the fear of being rebuked
From the fear of being calumniated
From the fear of being forgotten
From the fear of being ridiculed
From the fear of being wronged
From the fear of being suspected.

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire
That others may be loved more than I
That others may be esteemed more than I
That, in the opinion of the world
others may increase and I may decrease
That others may be chosen and I set aside
That others may be praised and I unnoticed
That others may be preferred to me in everything
That others may become holier than I, provided
that I may become as holy as I should."