Fasten box

By Aloys Leenders

Translation: Hans Brockhuis

A day after carnival celebrating people put down their masks and once again show their real faces(?). Then it will be Ash Wednesday. The Ashes, the imposing of ashes on the forehead, herald so much as the opening ceremony of Lent, the forty day period before Easter. The cross is symbol for the crossbeam which we all seem to wallop into from time to time.

“Ash Wedneday… Memento homo, quia pulvis est, et in pulverem reverteris…, Remember, O man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return!” During Lent in liturgy and lectures once and again the fragility and feebleness of our human existence will be pointed out to us. Try to live it, keeping in mind that of the insights into the human character, insight into the self is hardest. But let us, in the name of Heaven, not yield to thoughts of disaster such as: “Life is just a vale of tears and we will decay into dust, for that matter!” As believers we have faith in the good result. “Say yes to eternal life!”

One of the lectures during Lent is about Adam and Eve. You know the story. They had a good time in the garden (paradise). Father God protected them but there were rules as well. They had to choose between good and evil but they wanted to choose for themselves. But people are not God. Therefore we sometimes pick the wrong straw.

In comparison to the paradise story; parents like to decide for their children what is good or evil. A day will come, though, that he/she will choose for her/him self which direction to choose. They really want to decide for themselves. During these weeks we will have ample time to go deeply into this.

In one of the other lectures we will meet a woman; a man; a well; market place; noon; it is hot. Could be the beginning of a romance. They facilitate each other with water and get to talking. Have concern for each other. Why not? Do we refresh our fellow man when he is thirsting? Topical; offer we comfort when someone is in need? Partner has gone… we are in depth… bickering… complaints… fill in yourself.

No heroism of famish or sacrifice is expected of us. Yet ordinary daily proof of our restraint or loving treatment of our sisters and brothers is usual.

I just cannot abstain from mentioning the, now infamous fasten box. At Sundays all collected candy could be eaten. After mass solemnly the fasten box was opened. And then we ate all those delicacies of lumpy toffees, sweet wood, black and white, sweets and gobstoppers. When we were very young it was already taught to us to share; because with all those brothers and sisters there was not very much to split.

Ludicrous times? But signing a check for good intentions could probably be so much the easier than the ‘fasting box principle’.

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