From today¹s readings: ³It was called Babel, because there the LORDconfused the speech of all the world.... Blessed the people the Lord haschosen to be His own.... Whoever wishes to come after Me must deny himself,take up his cross, and follow Me.²Self-Denial Every FridayNext week, with the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday, we will all strive toenter the penitential spirit of the season with our commitment to prayer,fasting, and almsgiving. One of the best known Catholic Lenten practices isthe custom of abstaining from eating meat on the Fridays of Lent (and on AshWednesday).Not eating meat is a mild form of the penitential practice of fasting. Theidea is to commit ourselves to a concrete form of self-denial, therebyuniting ourselves with the Lord¹s own self-denial, and His insistence thatself-denial is an essential aspect of taking up one¹s own cross andfollowing Him in Christian discipleship.Because Jesus died on a Friday, for Christians, that day of the week hasever since been colored by remembrance of that event. In fact, althoughmany Catholics aren¹t well aware of the fact, when not coinciding with afestive solemnity (such as Christmas), every Friday of the year (not justthose of Lent!) is to be observed with a spirit of penance.Excerpts from http://www.usccb.org/lent/2008/Penance_and_Abstinence.pdf<http://www.usccb.org/lent/2008/Penance_and_Abstinence.pdf>:22. Friday itself remains a special day of penitential observance throughoutthe year, a time when those who seek perfection will be mindful of theirpersonal sins and the sins of mankind which they are called upon to helpexpiate in union with Christ Crucified.23. Friday should be in each week something of what Lent is in the entireyear. For this reason we urge all to prepare for that weekly Easter thatcomes with each Sunday by freely making of every Friday a day of self-denialand mortification in prayerful remembrance of the passion of Jesus Christ.inward spiritual values that we cherish.27. It would bring great glory to God and good to souls if Fridays found ourpeople doing volunteer work in hospitals, visiting the sick, serving theneeds of the aged and the lonely, instructing the young in the Faith,participating as Christians in community affairs, and meeting ourobligations to our families, our friends, our neighbors, and our community,including our parishes, with a special zeal born of the desire to add themerit of penance to the other virtues exercised in good works born of livingfaith.