Ash Wednesday is not a day I usually associate with church giggles, but at our Mass at Steyning tonight, I was a little generous with the holy water (one likes to make a nice black mark, naturally). As I thumbed a generous dollop of wet ash onto the forehead of one of our servers, sonorously intoning 'remember man that you are dust and to dust you will return' a large portion detached itself from his forehead and landed on the end of his nose where it remained until the end of Mass. I had to consciously avert my eyes in case I snorted with laughter…… Such are the trials of parish ministry. The lad was quite happy with it when he looked in the mirror after Mass and left it there.
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Ashes
Ash Wednesday is not a day I usually associate with church giggles, but at our Mass at Steyning tonight, I was a little generous with the holy water (one likes to make a nice black mark, naturally). As I thumbed a generous dollop of wet ash onto the forehead of one of our servers, sonorously intoning 'remember man that you are dust and to dust you will return' a large portion detached itself from his forehead and landed on the end of his nose where it remained until the end of Mass. I had to consciously avert my eyes in case I snorted with laughter…… Such are the trials of parish ministry. The lad was quite happy with it when he looked in the mirror after Mass and left it there.
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4 comments:
Of course he was happy with them there! "SISTER SAID" not to fiddle with the ashes until you would normally wash your face....and this give him visual proof that Father has lousy aim.
Indeed, Father; although decidedly too old to be called one, I can confirm boys revel in having prominent ashes.
I commend your 'evangelical' approach to the ashes, Father - given that Our Lord "spat on the ground and made a paste..." in curing the blind man!
However, given the resulting consistency of the ashes, might not the formula have been changed to: "Mud thou art..."
Mark, girls are just relieved if Father can do a cross so it at least looks like a cross. [Never be the first one...but you sure don't want to be at the back of the line either....]
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