Happy Ash Wednesday to all,
Today for Christians, we start the Lenten season (http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-resources/lent/) with Ash Wednesday. This is a time of preparation. It’s about 40 days in length. This time is no coincidence, how long were the Israelites wandering in the desert when they fled from Egypt? How long did Christ spend in the desert? (The list goes on) the answer is 40 days!
Today I’m going to share some of my tips for traveling for work during the Lenten season, or just about any other time of year.
First: It’s Holy Week (the week prior to Easter, starting with Palm Sunday and Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem and ending with the Easter Sunday) or it’s the weekend or another holy day of obligation. (BTW Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation in the USA but is the most attended non-holy day mass.) What to do? What to do? I’d recommend googleing around where you are working and see if there are any Catholic Churches nearby. Most parishes have websites now that list their mass schedule. Find out when mass is and make some time to go to church. Most of the time I find I can go to mass then go back to work and be more productive than I was before I left.
Second: Offer it up. There are several days that we as Catholics are called fast (Ash Wednesday). This isn’t the easiest thing when you have clients you are taking out for lunch or have a dinner meeting. We are also called to abstain from meat on some days, such as Friday’s during Lent. How can someone do this while taking care of their clients? I’d start by recommending that you look for sea food options on the menu, if none exist look for the vegetarian options. Both are great alternatives. But what about fasting? Simple, order the small portion or only eat some of it and get the rest to go. And if you happen to be at a meeting where food is catered in and there are no non-meat selections politely decline and explain that you practice your faith and that during this time many don’t eat meat.
Third: What about the ashes on my forehead. I can’t go to a customer’s site like that. My first question is it bothering you or the customer? The ashes (or just about any other religious material) give you the opportunity to share your faith. My favorite reference to this is the song this little light of mine. Let it shine, let it shine. It can make things awkward but once you show you are willing to share about it I’ve found it makes things go so much smoother and you gain their trust. You will also often find that many others in the organization are wearing their ashes as well. (I strongly discourage this) If the ashes are such a distraction that neither you nor the client can work, wash them off. They are an outward symbol of your faith.
Those are three of my tips for traveling and fostering your faith. Now I’m off to mass.
Make it a happy day,
Tony
