Ashes or valentines? That seems to be the dilemma as Catholics celebrate the start of the Lenten season on Feb. 14. But just how much of a dilemma is it? After all, we celebrate “Saint” Valentine’s Day. Part of the confusion lies in the commercialization of Valentine’s Day. Immediately after the new year, I began seeing red.

Despite the dawn of a new year, how many of us can say that we truly love the months of January and February? For me, they are the cruelest months of the year. They are the heart of winter: the coldest months, particularly if the groundhog sees its shadow.

Just as news of the return of once-popular home decorating show Trading Spaces hit the airwaves, the north and south regions traded their own spaces. As the temperatures dropped last week, New Orleanians experienced the frigid and dangerous conditions of their northern neighbors.

New Orleans is home to some of the most beautiful churches in our nation. We need look no further than the Clarion Herald’s Bridal Registry to see images of the older churches with their Gothic or renaissance-revivalist architecture, stained-glass windows, ornate pillars and arches, and immense artworks.

One of the many reasons I love my job as a professor is that the start of each new year feels like a new year: new students, new courses, new materials. It also causes me to reflect. At the end of each course, I ask myself what I could have  done differently? What could be more engaging?