Four Religious Days This Week

 This year, Ash Wednesday falls on February 18. Observed by many Western churches as the beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday is 40 days (minus the Sundays) before Easter, reflecting the 40 days of Jesus' fast in the wilderness, as recorded in the Synoptic Gospels. The imposition of ashes--the burned remains of palm branches of the previous year's Palm Sunday--reflect the following biblical passages. "[T]hen the Lord God formed [the human] from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7). "By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). "All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again" (Ecclesiastes 3:20). There is a pun in the Hebrew language: "adam" means “human", and "adamah" means "soil". By reminding us of our mortality and connection to the earth, we are called to reflect upon and seek renewal of our relationship with God, who has given us physical life and promises eternal life.

The month of Ramadan begins today (depending on the sighting of the crescent moon) and lasts until March 19. Prayers for Muslim friends during this month and all year! As this says, Muslims fast from food and drink from pre-dawn to sunset. "The ultimate goal of fasting is gaining greater God-consciousness, known in Arabic as taqwa, signifying a state of constant awareness of God. From this awareness, a person should gain discipline, self-restraint, and a greater incentive to do good and avoid wrong. In commemoration of the revelation the Qur’an, which began in the month of Ramadan, Muslims attempt to read the entire book during Ramadan. The entire Qur’an is also recited during special nightly prayers." https://ing.org/resources/for-all-groups/calendar-of-important-islamic-dates/ramadan-information-sheet/?fbclid=IwY2xjawQCy19leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEegV9-1fn925w-_OVdqJ1JYWrr4liaOTWe2jm4uKXV7IeIoJno_WeniGbfwXE_aem_m2jyf7QBbAJAejGvJcdsRg

The Lunar New Year began on February 17th!  https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cgqg0pwkq2kt?fbclid=IwY2xjawQCy5lleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeJxOnYQn1OQrtudoVzXmh4UQ1bejIOvokD4M2DTYkOle9WlKI_-_unAJkenk_aem_O3kqshnGCdHPFyfDqOQaPg It's very uncommon for Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Ramadan, and the Lunar New Year to happen about the same time like this. 

In Judaism, February 17 was Rosh Chodesh Adar, the beginning of the month of Adar that contains the joyous holiday Purim, brightening the whole lunar month with joy.

Remembering Margo Frank on Her 100th Birth Anniversary

 Born February 16, 1926, Margot Betti Frank was the older sister of Anne Frank. It's the 100th anniversary of her birth in Frankfurt. Margo received a deportation order from the Gestapo in 1942, the reason that the family went into hiding. Anne wrote that Margot also kept a diary, but it has never been found. So we learn her story via Anne's. She and Anne died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen in February or March 1945.

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Happy Birthday, Dickens!

Charles Dickens was born February 7, 1812. He published 15 major novels, several novellas, many short stories, and some plays and non-fiction works. He died when he was 58--leaving his last novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished and with no clues as to the story's resolution. Some folks get concerned if they think "Merry Christmas" is socially discouraged, but it was actually Dickens who popularized the phrase in his beloved (secular) story of Scrooge and his transformation. Dickens was sharply critical of aspects of America during his 1842 visit but had more positive experiences during his 1867-1868 return trip, including a sleigh ride in Central Park.

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A Remarkable Story

 Happy birthday to model-actor Jeremy Meeks, born February 7, 1984! He already had a criminal record and had served time when he was arrested in Stockton, CA in 2014 on a felony weapons charge. His mugshot was posted among with those of several other persons on the Stockton Police Dept.'s Facebook page. The police hadn't expected his mugshot to go viral, with thousands of persons responding to his model-ready looks. The picture became a meme. A Twitter page was set up with the hashtag # feloncrushfriday. Meeks was convicted of one count of being a felon in possession of a weapon and was sent to federal prison. He served 13 of a 27-month sentence. Upon his release, he gained a lot of modeling and runway opportunities through an agency that had earlier approached him. He appeared in a music video of a Russian artist. In the 2020s, with many modeling gigs to his credit, Meeks branched out into acting. He has written on his Instagram about his gratitude to God and about his talks to juvenile offenders. His autobiography will be published this coming August.

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Landscape: George Inness

George Inness, "Delaware Water Gap" (1857). From:  https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10241588340504868&set=gm.26303589242559478&idorvanity=630255120319576

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Thirteenth Amendment Anniversary

The Thirteenth Amendment of the US Constitution was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864. It was passed by the House on January 31, 1865. The required 27 of the 36 states ratified the amendment on December 18, 1865: 

"Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

"Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

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The Tet Offensive Anniversary

The Tet Offensive began on January 30 and 31, 1968. It was the largest military campaign of the Vietnam War up to that time. Named for the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, the battle was a surprise attack of North Vietnamese forces against those of South Vietnam and the United States and their allies. The offensive's three phases lasted into the autumn. The North Vietnamese leadership perceived the offensive as a failure because it did not cause a great uprising among the South Vietnamese. However, the American public opinion began to turn against the conflict. Over 16,000 American soldiers were killed in 1968; meanwhile, the Selective Service called for a larger number of draftees. On February 1, 1968, in a public execution in Saigon, South Vietnamese General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan shot a Viet Cong officer in the head. We've all seen that distressing photograph, which won the Pulitzer Prize. The picture contributed to growing American alarm about the war. 

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