Lent

On June 9, 2005, ELEANOR E. (nee Finn), devoted mother of Gregory H. Lent and his wife Lane, Dale M. Meola and her husband Peter. Friends may call at the family owned Leonard J. Ruck, Inc. Funeral Home, 5305 Harford Rd., (at Echodale), on Sunday, 2 to 4 P. M and 7 to 9 P.M. A funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Isaac Jogues Church on Monday 11 A.M. Interment private. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, 415 N. Charles St, Balto. MD, 21201 or the Kidney Foundation of Maryland, 1107 Kenilworth Dr., Suite 202, Balto.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police lost track of hundreds of state-owned firearms it issued to volunteer trainers in hunter education programs, creating a "public safety risk" and a potential misuse of federal money, according to a recent audit by the U.S. Department of the Interior. According to the report by the federal agency's inspector general released last month, 761 firearms were not properly accounted for out of more than 900 guns the state issued to 90 private citizens — more than 10 per volunteer.

LENT, THE CHRISTIAN season of denial and contemplation, begins Wednesday, and churches in Linthicum and Ferndale have scheduled services in observance of the season:Linthicum Heights United Methodist Church, 200 School Lane, will offer ashes at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Holly Run Chapel and a service in the sanctuary at 7: 30 p.m. Potluck suppers are scheduled at 6: 30 p.m. Feb. 19 and 26, with services at 7: 30 p.m. A variety of sacred music will be presented Feb....

With the company that put on Baltimore's inaugural Grand Prix struggling to pay its debts, a disagreement is revving up over whether the city did enough to ensure the race's financial viability. Jay Davidson, an investor in the race's operator, Baltimore Racing Development, suggested in an op-ed article in The Baltimore Sun that the city should have offered more subsidies to race promoters for the Labor Day weekend event. The company "faced financial obstacles from the start" that promoters of similar events in other cities don't confront, he said.

Christians began Lent yesterday with Ash Wednesday observances as varied as the Jewish call to penance -- the blowing of the ram's horn -- in a Roman Catholic church in Baynesville and a sung High Mass in an Episcopal church in Baltimore's Mount Vernon area.The rite of imposition of ashes, the smudging of foreheads with the burned palms of last year's Palm Sunday, was observed in many churches of several denominations throughout the region.These included Presbyterian, United Methodist, Lutheran and Episcopal as well as churches of the Catholic faith, in which the practice began 904 years ago with the Synod of Benevento.

LORD, who threw out these 40 days?Question: Who was taller, David or Goliath? Answer: David who?This exchange was reported by a Gallup Poll investigating the religious knowledge of a group of Americans. If this answer is typical, a brief refresher course on Lent and Easter may be timely and appreciated.Why "Lent"? This is basically a nonreligious calendar word, and originally referred to the time of the year when the daylight hours were noticeably longer, or "LENgThening."Why "Easter"? This is a sky word referring to the East (as does "easterly winds")

Today is Ash Wednesday, the day when Christians are reminded to "Remember man that thou are dust and unto dust thou shall return."The beginning of the season of Lent's 40 days is traditionally a day of penance and introspection. But yesterday, some Baltimoreans, as in other parts of the world, had a last gustatory fling before the long, late winter days when believers are TC supposed to deny themselves pleasures of the table.Consider the happy pancake eat ers who turned up for the Shrove Tuesday feast at St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1900 St. Paul St.Shrove Tuesday takes its name from the archaic verb, shrive, "to hear the confession of, then after absolution, do penance."

BEGINNING WITH Ash Wednesday last week, many area churches are offering special programs for the season of Lent.At St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Odenton, daily Mass will be celebrated at 6: 30 a.m. and 9 a.m. Stations of the Cross will be held Fridays at 7 p.m.St. Stephen's Episcopal Church will hold Lenten services each Wednesday evening. At 6: 30 p.m., parishioners will join for a potluck supper. After the meal, speakers from the diocesan office will talk about Episcopal social ministries.

Many Christian congregations mark the start of the Lenten season today by placing an ashen cross on parishioners' foreheads.But what does the ritual of Ash Wednesday really mean?"

You know it's Lent when you have to fine yourself a nickel for watching your favorite TV program. Or shell out for forgetting to pray before lunch. Or chip in for every pair of shoes you own, or every story you read in the newspaper about the homeless.The Pasadena United Methodist Church is offering a daily calendar to guide parishioners on their spiritual pilgrimage from the beginning of lent, Feb. 24, until its end on Easter, April 11, says the Rev. R. E. Nowers. He hopes it will help the 1,000-member church focus on what the 40 days before the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are supposed to mean.

"Will you split a mini-muffin with me? I couldn't possibly eat a whole one. I'll look like a pregnant whale at prom!" Walk into many school hallways in the month leading up to prom, graduation and beach week and you will hear girls — most of them at a seemingly healthy weight — discussing their personal travails of "lent." Most people understand Lent to be the period of abstention prior to Easter. Prom, beach week and graduation "lent" are the unofficial periods of dieting and intense exercise prior to cherished high school milestones.

Two old friends cornered me at church to remind me of some other vanished Baltimore food favorites. Annette Nagler recalled Fiske's ice cream and cakes, and Bill Zorzi nominated Jordan Stabler's ham spread and homemade mayonnaise. I should have known. These foods were often present at the home of my birth. These encounters followed a column published last Saturday, where I asked, "Do unattainable foods resonate better in our memories?" Since then, I've heard from many persons, and here are some of the ideas that crossed my desk this week.

Ravens center Matt Birk (above, second from left), offensive tackle Stefan Rodgers (near right) and defensive lineman Haloti Ngata (far right) help build a playground at Good Samaritan Hospital's Child Development Center. They were among a large group of Ravens and other volunteers who lent a hand for the project.

It's a shame the rest of American finance can't clean itself up like Legg Mason did. If Wall Street could confess to terrible losses and sweep them out the door the way the big Baltimore money manager did, we might be closer to ending the recession. Stage by painful stage, Legg bailed out its money-market customers for a total of $2.3 billion in losses on paper linked to mortgages and other funky bets. The final junk got dumped into the recycling bin two weeks ago, when Legg disposed of $300 million in debt issued by a "structured investment vehicle" for $49 million - a paltry 16 cents on the dollar.

NEW YORK - Citigroup Inc.'s stock sank yesterday to its lowest levels since November as investors wondered how much more cash the troubled bank will need. Citigroup Inc., in an effort to raise capital, is hammering out a deal to sell the bulk of its retail brokerage to Morgan Stanley. The joint venture - expected to be announced this week - would lead to an after-tax gain for Citigroup of $5 billion to $6 billion, a person close to the negotiations said yesterday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the talks.

SEPT. 24, 2028 Dear grandchildren: Now that you're old enough to begin understanding the world you have inherited, let me try to explain what happened. By rights, the United States should be in far better shape for you. But your elders failed to deliver "what is due to their posterity," in the words of a conservative British politician who thought about these things a long time ago. It didn't happen all at once. Nobody intended to leave the country to the next generation diminished in influence and avoiding calls from debt collectors.

Christians of many faiths will begin today observing the 40 days of Lent, arguably the most holy time in the Christian calendar.Many faiths mark this time by fasting or abstaining from some foods, particularly meat.There are many other foods to choose from; seafood, particularly fish, is always popular. Vegetable soups are another delicious option.One way the congregation of St. John's Episcopal Church, Huntingdon, will observe Lent is by participating in "alternative Fridays," according to the Waverly church's rector, the Rev. Jesse L. A. Parker.

Travelers whizzing up and down York Road probably don't realize when they get to Stevenson Lane, they're at the epicenter of Rodgers Forge. Recently, colleague Laura Vozzella reported in her column that The Times of London, in a profile of Olympian Michael Phelps, said that he hailed from "the blue-collar mill town of Towson" - to be more accurate, it's Rodgers Forge. We take our neighborhoods seriously around here. Rodgers Forge has Phelps, and Towson can claim Olympic swimmers Anita Nall (1992)