{"id":54573,"date":"2021-02-09T08:44:48","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T14:44:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=54573"},"modified":"2021-02-09T10:32:07","modified_gmt":"2021-02-09T16:32:07","slug":"ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/","title":{"rendered":"Ash Wednesday 2021 – A Pandemic Blessing in Disguise?"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

In 1988, British English language and spirituality educator Elizabeth-Anne Vanek offered this thoughtful insight on Ash Wednesday:

You thumbed grit
into my furrowed brow,
marking me
with the sign of mortality,
the dust of last year\u2019s palms.
The cross you traced
seared, smudged skin,
and I recalled
other ashes
etched
into my heart
by those who loved too little
or not at all (Extraordinary Time<\/em>, 1988).

What might strike us in this poem is how Vanek describes one receives ashes on this day. The ashes are \u201cgrit\u201d \u201cseared\u201d and \u201csmudged\u201d into the furrows of the forehead in the shape of a cross. For many decades this is what most people have expected when they come forward on Ash Wednesday. And yet for Ash Wednesday 2021, we are asked, because of the pandemic, to not administer ashes in this way. With the precautions and restrictions on close contact brought on by the pandemic both the Congregation for Divine Worship and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have recommended that ashes be placed \u201con the head,\u201d rather than \u201con the forehead.\u201d

A simple request, it appears, on the surface. It adapts the non-obligatory sacramental gesture (we are neither required to receive ashes or participate in the Eucharist on Ash Wednesday) to the times and contexts in which we are now living.

Yet, additionally it creates for the faithful one more instance of robbing of a comforting tradition in this time of upheaval, anxiety, and stress. The trauma of \u201cashes in my hair\u201d now replaces any self-consciousness or embarrassment of public displays of religious identification that a well-placed Cross on one\u2019s forehead may have prompted.

And still, as in all that has occurred to people of faith in this time of pandemic, God challenges if not forces us to consider, however unexpectedly, a new awareness of what, what we do in faith actually\u2026does. The starkness of this challenge is sharpened when we are forced to reconsider what has perhaps been taken too long for granted, and what it truly means. Which realization, in turn, may be very good for us.

There are many debates as to how ashes come to be placed on foreheads, rather than on the top of the head, as appears to be the location for such an action stemming from ancient practice. It makes sense since the top of the head is always the place for a type of commissioning \u2013 hand-laying at Holy Orders or in the anointing with Chrism after Baptism come to mind, or any time the Holy Spirit is asked to come upon an individual. In the Roman Missal<\/em> for Ash Wednesday, it says specifically that \u201cthe Priest places ashes on the head<\/strong> of all those present who come to him.\u201d It never says that they are placed in the form of a Cross or on the forehead.

Some who attempt an explanation for why this changed offer that it was because women were veiled in places of assembly (thank you Saint Paul), and a desire that the ashes touch the body and not something covering the body removed the place of reception to the forehead. It is interesting to add that the forehead is generally reserved as place of liturgical action to the bishop, the crown or top of the head to the presbyter.

In any event, we are asked this year to adopt this more ancient form for the administration of ashes, which is neither novel nor unusual. There are places in the world, Italy for instance, where this has always been the method for receiving ashes. Placing ashes on the head communicates two other truths about this sacramental, which can begin the Lenten journey.

The first truth is that ashes on the head is the more appropriate manner by which to experience this sacramental given Jesus\u2019 admonitions in the gospel of Ash Wednesday. In Matthew 6 Jesus not merely provides us the Lenten disciplines of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting, he more importantly tells us what not to do when doing them.

The disciplines and anything connected with them are always to be done in secret, privately, without drawing attention to us, and in a way that is cleanly. The \u201cseared, smudged Cross\u201d etched into our foreheads, however, has always contradicted Christ\u2019s counsel. The yearly display of \u201cpublic Catholicism\u201d (although other Christian traditions are retrieving this practice) seems to generate more sensationalism and spectacle from social and news media than it does encourage a call to renewal of life. At times it may even appear that ashes are received more as a pious superstition than as a sign of deeper conversion. We do not receive ashes to show the world (or God) that we are believers, our humble and selfless actions ought to accomplish this.

This realization brings us to the second truth ashes on the head may reveal to us. Again, anything done to the head is done as a sign of commissioning, of taking on a responsibility of witness in the world. So too with ashes, which are not a private and personal action.

Ashes are death because that\u2019s what ashes are, the death of olive branches in particular (or of any tree for that matter blest the previous year as the Roman Missal<\/em> states). Placing ashes on the head symbolically places death on our heads. But death is not placed there in condemnation. None of the readings points to condemnation; they point to restoration and hope. Death is placed upon our heads to remind us that death gives way to life. This is the Paschal Mystery; this is what it means to live as a believer in the world. It is what we are supposed to give witness to every day of our lives.

In this extraordinary time in our human history, when death seems to have so strong a hold over us, this year\u2019s entrance into the disciplines of Lent reminds us of who and what we must be as believers. Ashes placed upon the seat of wisdom, upon the head, enable us to begin, once again, to remember.

If we profess that with the Resurrection of Christ death has lost its sting, no longer has power over us, is not an ending but a change in human life, we receive ashes to begin the journey from death to life. Receiving ashes commissions us to give witness to our congregations, our communities, our world that God has won the victory over death. It is God who leads us out of darkness into God\u2019s own wonderful light. A re-direction, an adaptation, to the way ashes are received may seem like a subtle change; yet God works best through subtlety.

The exception to this year\u2019s practice for Ash Wednesday may be a one-off, or it may become an alternative in future years. What is important for us to awaken to and contemplate this year is the power of this action. If we choose to receive them (and even if we do not) what we are called and reminded to witness to as believers in the world is the triumph of God over sin and death. We take on death as Christ did so that we may also contribute to its defeat. This is a challenge not for the faint-of-heart, but through the disciplines of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting we are given once again the tools to succeed in it.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1988, British English language and spirituality educator Elizabeth-Anne Vanek offered this thoughtful insight on Ash Wednesday: You thumbed gritinto my furrowed brow,marking mewith the sign of mortality,the dust of last year\u2019s palms.The cross you tracedseared, smudged skin,and I recalledother ashesetchedinto my heartby those who loved too littleor not at all (Extraordinary Time, 1988). What […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":54577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[3118,3446,91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ars-celebrandi-new-ws","category-liturgical-catechesis","category-liturgical-year"],"yoast_head":"\nAsh Wednesday 2021 - A Pandemic Blessing in Disguise? - Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ash Wednesday 2021 - A Pandemic Blessing in Disguise? - Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 1988, British English language and spirituality educator Elizabeth-Anne Vanek offered this thoughtful insight on Ash Wednesday: You thumbed gritinto my furrowed brow,marking mewith the sign of mortality,the dust of last year\u2019s palms.The cross you tracedseared, smudged skin,and I recalledother ashesetchedinto my heartby those who loved too littleor not at all (Extraordinary Time, 1988). What […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-09T14:44:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-09T16:32:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/images-e1612821459563.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Fr. Jim Sabak, OFM\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Fr. Jim Sabak, OFM\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/09\\\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/09\\\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Fr. Jim Sabak, OFM\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/12969a5a713a4ce09e597a2edbe428ab\"},\"headline\":\"Ash Wednesday 2021 – A Pandemic Blessing in Disguise?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-09T14:44:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-09T16:32:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/09\\\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1232,\"commentCount\":11,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/09\\\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/images-e1612821459563.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"2_ARS CELEBRANDI\",\"Liturgical Catechesis\",\"Liturgical year\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/09\\\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/09\\\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/09\\\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ash Wednesday 2021 - A Pandemic Blessing in Disguise? - Home\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/09\\\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/09\\\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/images-e1612821459563.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-09T14:44:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-09T16:32:07+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/09\\\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/09\\\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/09\\\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/images-e1612821459563.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/images-e1612821459563.jpg\",\"width\":200,\"height\":100},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/09\\\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ash Wednesday 2021 – A Pandemic Blessing in Disguise?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Home\",\"description\":\"Worship, Wit & Wisdom\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Home\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/cropped-BlogHeaderFinal2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/cropped-BlogHeaderFinal2.jpg\",\"width\":1340,\"height\":209,\"caption\":\"Home\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/12969a5a713a4ce09e597a2edbe428ab\",\"name\":\"Fr. Jim Sabak, OFM\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/sabak-860-96x96.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/sabak-860-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/sabak-860-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Fr. Jim Sabak, OFM\"},\"description\":\"Jim is an ordained Franciscan of Holy Name Province (O.F.M.). He has taught at The Catholic University of America, Franciscan School of Theology, and Providence College. Jim is the chair of the American Franciscan Liturgical Commission and serves as the convener of the Problems in the Early History of Liturgy Seminar for the North American Academy of Liturgy. Jim also serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Catholic Academy of Liturgy.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/jsabak\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ash Wednesday 2021 - A Pandemic Blessing in Disguise? - Home","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ash Wednesday 2021 - A Pandemic Blessing in Disguise? - Home","og_description":"In 1988, British English language and spirituality educator Elizabeth-Anne Vanek offered this thoughtful insight on Ash Wednesday: You thumbed gritinto my furrowed brow,marking mewith the sign of mortality,the dust of last year\u2019s palms.The cross you tracedseared, smudged skin,and I recalledother ashesetchedinto my heartby those who loved too littleor not at all (Extraordinary Time, 1988). What […]","og_url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/","og_site_name":"Home","article_published_time":"2021-02-09T14:44:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-02-09T16:32:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":200,"height":100,"url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/images-e1612821459563.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Fr. Jim Sabak, OFM","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Fr. Jim Sabak, OFM","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/"},"author":{"name":"Fr. Jim Sabak, OFM","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#\/schema\/person\/12969a5a713a4ce09e597a2edbe428ab"},"headline":"Ash Wednesday 2021 – A Pandemic Blessing in Disguise?","datePublished":"2021-02-09T14:44:48+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-09T16:32:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/"},"wordCount":1232,"commentCount":11,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/images-e1612821459563.jpg","articleSection":["2_ARS CELEBRANDI","Liturgical Catechesis","Liturgical year"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/","name":"Ash Wednesday 2021 - A Pandemic Blessing in Disguise? - Home","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/images-e1612821459563.jpg","datePublished":"2021-02-09T14:44:48+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-09T16:32:07+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/images-e1612821459563.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/images-e1612821459563.jpg","width":200,"height":100},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/ash-wednesday-2021-a-pandemic-blessing-in-disguise\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ash Wednesday 2021 – A Pandemic Blessing in Disguise?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/","name":"Home","description":"Worship, Wit & Wisdom","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#organization","name":"Home","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cropped-BlogHeaderFinal2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cropped-BlogHeaderFinal2.jpg","width":1340,"height":209,"caption":"Home"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#\/schema\/person\/12969a5a713a4ce09e597a2edbe428ab","name":"Fr. Jim Sabak, OFM","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/sabak-860-96x96.jpg","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/sabak-860-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/sabak-860-96x96.jpg","caption":"Fr. Jim Sabak, OFM"},"description":"Jim is an ordained Franciscan of Holy Name Province (O.F.M.). He has taught at The Catholic University of America, Franciscan School of Theology, and Providence College. Jim is the chair of the American Franciscan Liturgical Commission and serves as the convener of the Problems in the Early History of Liturgy Seminar for the North American Academy of Liturgy. Jim also serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Catholic Academy of Liturgy.","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/author\/jsabak\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/images-e1612821459563.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/85"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54573"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54587,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54573\/revisions\/54587"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}