Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. As I did last year, (at least) one post each week will be religious in nature. I'll try to keep them on Wednesdays in case you want to avoid them or seek them out.

Lent has three traditional practices: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These practices are designed to help us focus our attention away from ourselves and on to God and to the needs of our neighbors.

I try to keep Lent every year. I've done a variety things over the years, from giving up chocolate to going to Mass every day. For the last few years, I've tried to do choose Lenten practices that do three things: make me miss something, make me be attentive, and deepen my spirituality.

Last year, to be more spiritual, I attended Mass more often. I gave up diet soda which I certainly missed. And to keep me attentive, I gave up putting cinnamon on my morning coffee. Each day as I passed by the cinnamon shaker, I refocused on Lent and on my discipline.

This year, I decided to do new things. I will give up eating out (even takeout), except for travel and zeppole on St. Joseph's Day. I will certainly miss the convenience and the pleasure. To keep me attentive, I'm giving up fiction. That means no novels, no scripted television, no movies, and even no comics in the newspaper. It will require constant attention to my choices in reading and leisure. Finally, to improve my spiritual life, I plan to make amodified morning and evening prayer part of my routine.

We'll see how I do. I can only do my best.