LENT

So, this year I have decided to give up celebrity gossip websites and magazines for Lent. It is going to be very hard for me. I know that that this type of "news" does not matter and that most of the people mentioned in the reports are completely insane or ridiculous, but for some reason I can not stop reading about them! I am addicted to Perezhilton.com and DListed.com. I am not posting the links because I will be tempeted to click on them! I mostly like seeing what people are wearing, but I do admit that I like to learn about all the drama. Whenever I am bored I always look at the sites, but no more! I will stay on task and resist the urge to click! I wonder what I will do with all the free time that I will have??

Also, I went to Mass today to get my ashes and they always do the Gospel about not showing off how much you suffer when fasting and not to pray in public, but to do it in your own home so as not to brag about how religious you are being. What I don't understand is if they want you to keep your religion private and a personal thing, why do they mark a cross in ash on your head? I understand and agree with the reasoning of the ashes; to remind us of our mortality and that we will return to the ashes when we die, but our souls will continue to live, hopefully, with God, but I feel like it contradicts the Gospel chosen especially for this day. Maybe the ashes are there as more of a personal reminder of our mortality, but I can not help noticing that it is a particularly public way of showing that you are Catholic on a day when we are reminded to not flaunt our religion.