ABILENE — Bishop Michael Sis took on the role of university professor on Ash Wednesday when he educated, inspired, and entertained students at Abilene’s three universities.

Each year Bishop Sis conducts Ash Wednesday services at colleges or universities located within the 29-county Diocese of San Angelo. This year, he was back in Abilene to preside over services at Abilene Christian University (affiliated with the Churches of Christ), Hardin-Simmons University (a Baptist institution), and McMurry University (affiliated with the United Methodist Church). He visited ACU twice, once for a teaching program during the university’s regular 11 a.m. chapel time and again at night for a service that included the distribution of ashes.

The bishop showed his good humor at McMurry University by noting that if you forget to wipe the ashes from your forehead after an Ash Wednesday service, people might look at you in a funny way and ask questions like, “Have you been working on your car?” or “Do you have printer toner on your head?”

But the person who has experienced the imposition of ashes service knows the real reason for the mark of ashes. It is a deeply moving and spiritual experience and a public profession.

“I am not perfect — I am a recovering sinner,” is the message that the ashes deliver, Bishop Sis said at the McMurry service, which was the only one that included Mass.

McMurry University is observing its centennial year, with observances and celebrations scheduled throughout the year. The Ash Wednesday service was held in historic Old Main, the first building on campus. It opened Sept. 19, 1923, and hosted the opening day ceremonies. That significance wasn’t lost on the bishop, who mentioned the history in his remarks, or on Tamara Ramirez, a senior psychology major from Tahoka, near Lubbock. Ramirez is on track to graduate in May and was delighted when she was asked to read one of the Scriptures during the Mass. She sometimes finds it hard to attend Mass at a local parish and was glad that the bishop came to campus and mentioned the historic setting.

“It makes me feel so much more connected to McMurry,” she said.

Bishop Sis wove in a tutorial on Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent at each stop. At Abilene Christian University, he was greeted by students in the campus Lighthouse Catholic organization, who treated him to lunch afterward. Diego Lozano Welsh, a senior management major from Coppell, serves as president of the organization and introduced the bishop.

A university, Bishop Sis noted, is a place to exchange ideas, to learn, and to get to know each other. He explained the significance of Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, the 40-day period leading to Easter. The word “Lent” derives from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten, which refers to springtime and to the lengthening of days. From December to June, the bishop explained, the days get longer and the nights get shorter. The symbolism is significant.

“The light is gradually winning over the darkness,” Bishop Sis said at the ACU service.

Likewise, Christians should turn away from sin toward the light of Christ. In the early church, Lent was a time for new Christians to prepare to be baptized on Easter. It was a time of intense prayer and focus, much like today. The number 40 is found often in passages from both the Old and New Testaments, the bishop explained. The Israelites roamed the wilderness for 40 years. Jesus was in the desert for 40 days.

“Our use of 40 days of the season of Lent is modeled after that,” Bishop Sis said.

Sometimes sacrifices are made during Lent, the bishop noted, but that is not an attempt to win salvation. Instead, it is a response to God’s unconditional love. During Lent, Christians dedicate themselves to turning away from the superficial toward a deeper relationship with God.

Often, people give up things for Lent that aren’t necessarily bad but may be the focus of our attention. Those might include things like ice cream, chocolates, alcohol, or meat. “These are part of the good things of God’s earth,” Bishop Sis said, but could become detrimental in excess.

Sacrifices made during Lent are an attempt to connect us more personally with the sacrifices of Jesus, the bishop said, and to help us to not take things for granted. Three traditions associated with Lent — prayer, fasting, and almsgiving — help with that focus. At the McMurry service, Bishop Sis talked about types of prayer that are helpful and on the importance of a quiet, regular prayer time.

“It’s conversation time with God,” he said.

Stations of the Cross, confession, daily readings, praying the rosary, and eucharistic adoration are all helpful when developing a prayer routine. Helpful resources include the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, usccb.org, and the app iBreviary.

The bishop also emphasized the significance of almsgiving. That can include the sharing of space, time, and resources. He suggested giving to the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store, 1241 Walnut St. in Abilene.

All the Lenten practices — prayer, fasting, and almsgiving — serve as reminders that individual Christians are part of something bigger than themselves, the bishop said at the McMurry service. Christians around the world are engaging in the same holy season.

“We are not alone, we are connected,” Bishop Sis said. “We’re in this special time together.”

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Loretta Fulton is a freelance writer in Abilene. Her website is https://spiritofabilene.com/.