Posted on 02/16/2010 4:03:10 PM PST by NYer
It is important to give things up for Lent. Some pastors rightly warn some congregations about the wrong approach to Lent. It isn’t a spiritual bodybuilding contest … you aren’t supposed to do astounding things in Lent so you can look in the mirror and flex your spiritual muscles.
But you are supposed to regain some control over your life. As St. Paul says, for some, their god is their stomach. If you’re in that boat with me, let’s cast away that idol.
The public recently learned that Pope John Paul II went to great lengths to practice mortification in order to leave him freer to love God more. That’s what you and I should do, at our own level. If there’s something in your life that you can’t imagine possibly being able to give up … that may be just the attachment that you need to sever.
But always do it by adding something: More prayer, more Mass, more frequent confession, etc.
And so … the list!
Ideas for Adults
Fasting
• Fast with one full meal, no snacks one day a week.
• Skip meat an extra day (or two) a week .
• Give up alcoholic beverages. (Except in social situations; then you get just one!)
• Give up coffee (or reduce to one cup a day).
• Give up all desserts.
• Give up all unnecessary shopping.
• Fast from music in the car.
• Fast from talk radio.
Prayer
• Begin (or begin again) the daily Rosary.
• Meditate for 10 minutes a day (get a Magnificat to follow those).
• Choose one extra devotion per week during Lent: Stations of the Cross, Eucharistic adoration or a weekday Mass.
• Read a book on the Life of Christ. For example:
Alban Goodier’s The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Fulton Sheen’s The Life of Christ
Frank Sheed’s To Know Christ Jesus
Romano Guardini’s The Lord
• Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s 74-page section on prayer. (Section four; less than two pages a day!)
Almsgiving/Charity
• Visit a nursing home with your children.
• Forgive someone and patch things up in a visit, or, if necessary, by phone or letter.
• Give up gossip, judging or profanity.
• Find one “act of forgiveness” to make every day: A driver who cuts you off, a co-worker who annoys you, a shopper who cuts in line, a store clerk who is rude or a family member who ignores your needs.
• Say a kind word to everyone you meet.
• Pay a significant compliment (or more!) to each of your children every day.
• Offer to watch the children of a new mother one day a week throughout Lent.
• Visit an elderly friend or relative.
• Save up a significant amount of money for a deserving charity or apostolate.
For Children and Teens
If none of the adult ideas work for you, try:
• Do chores without complaining
• Draw pictures of Holy Week events.
• Restrict your TV, Internet or music time.
• Restrict your phone time.
• Send a letter or picture to a grandmother, aunt or Godparent.
• Make a new friend outside your “crowd.”
• Be a friend to a shy person.
• Give up that bad place, person or thing.
• Choose a favorite toy, book or piece of clothing and put it away until Easter.
I adore you Parcy.
You can come and jam with my family anytime.
You’ll have trombone, french horn, flute and kazoo backup.
Oh my if I gave up coffee someone would surely die! :(
MSNBC!
/sorry
Thanks, I am writing my second song for New America.
parsy, who has Tangled Up In Blue almost down (Darn that F minor chord!)
God bless you and yours netmilsmom.
I’m giving up mass for lent. :-)
The kind of demons Jesus was talking about were the one’s that made people looney and totally overpower them.(See the full excerpt from Matthew 17 below) People who are jealous and envious know exactly what their behavior is and it is not caused by demons but by man’s depraved nature. It takes humility and repentance.
Matthew 17:15-21
15] Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
[16] And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
[17] Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
[18] And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
[19] Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
[20] And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
[21] Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
WHAT!
Why not suggest fasting from Mass?
I do Novena every Tuesday night and during Lent I will be doing Stations of the Cross every Wednesday and Friday.
And you my FRiend!
I haven’t given up alcohol lately because I don’t stick with it. Maybe this will be the year ... but I’m not going to make an official resolution.
And a hole in the head.
My husband is a guitarist too ... Mariachi and flamenco, but he doesn’t know any Spanish (speaking of penance).
I he is using classical guitar, then he probably knows where to put his left thumb. I have been trying to retrain myself to get it back halfway under the neck, so I can learn to pick notes and solo, and OMG my left hand is killing me. Been playing to some degree for over 30 years (simple chords and simple songs) but oh the bad habits I have to break. Then I went and did some hand flapping exercises wrong and whew, got both hands in pain.
parsy, who has a few years to re-learn
Der Prinz plays left-handed, because he injured his right hand when he was a child and can’t use a couple of the fingers. It makes buying guitars very expensive!
One does have be careful with the fingers, especially in the winter. And he’s a regular at the Vietnamese nail salon - the owners go to our church. They fix his nails for free and consider it a social call.
Sounds like he is a real guitarist. I doubt I will ever be at my age, but I can at least be better than I am now. Your husband sounds like Django Riendhart.
parsy
A couple of other books I might suggest is The Murder Of Jesus by John MacArthur and ThePassion Of Jesus Christ by John Piper.
I’m giving up unnecessary internet usage - so goodbye FR for six weeks...then I’ll probably be back to lurker mode!
You don't have to give up something for Lent. It is considered a pious custom.
You can search for yourself to find the many examples of fasting that are located throughout the Scriptures.
Giving up something is considered a small fast.
And as far as the 40 days of Lent, well our Lord fasted for 40 days before starting His earthly ministry (see Matt 4:2, as an example)
Except for the specifically “Lental” ideas, we should try to do these things every day of our lives!
Try Welches' grape juice or apple juice, chilled in a nice wine glass!
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