Talk about a near-spring calendar filled with Good Mornings: Note that Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, a 40-day period of reflection,
repentance and sometimes fasting before Easter. (We skip Sundays when we count the 40, because Sundays commemorate the Resurrection.) This year Lent ends April 11, the day before Easter. But, for Roman Catholics, Lent officially ends at sundown on Holy Thursday — April 9 this year — with the beginning of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Remember, too, that Lent is, for some, a time of fasting, and that is a spiritual discipline that does not involve starvation or dehydration. Which is our way of saying: Be free to enjoy all the fish fries we start talking about today on page S-7. Yes, go fish for the next six or seven weeks, but before you promise to give up sugar for Lent, go dunking into these sugar babies … Lent also brings March madness: St. Louise de Marillac Elementary School in Upper St. Clair will host a hoopster hi-jinx fundraiser at 5 p.m. March 15 in the gymnasium.
The event is patterned after the NCAA’s March Madness men’s basketball tournament: March 15 is Selection Sunday, by the way. This local event will feature food, beverages, auctions, a charity free-throw shooting contest, music — and lots of b-ball.