What Are You Giving Up 4 Lent?

[Gothmama25]

Since lent starts this wednesday I was just curious what anyone who celebrates the holiday is giving up. I'm still debating on what to give up. I am torn between pies/cakes, alcohol, & smoking.

[phee]

I am giving up the cold weather for a while... heh

[Gothmama25]

I am giving up the cold weather for a while... heh

That would be a good thing to give up. Going to hawaii then until warm weather comes back? lol

[phee]

That would be a good thing to give up. Going to hawaii then until warm weather comes back? lol

That's the idea...

although I know it's not quite the spirit of the Holiday

[sass_in_the_pants]

For Lent, we have decided to give more to charity than we spend on booze. I'm ashamed that it's even come to this.

I asked my grandma what she was going to give up. She said "I'm 84, what do you want from me, my heart medication?"

Nice.

[Onyx]

Glad I'm not catholic because I don't know how I'd find something to give up. I guess it would have to be something like TV watching or computer time because I've already cut out most sugar, don't smoke, don't drink, don't do drugs.

What is the reason for Lent? I am not familiar for the Catholic faith and not sure of the reasons behind it. How long do you give up these things for?

[hellequin]

I'm giving up church. Its an addiction that detracts me from more productive pursuits.

[Klaus]

Im giving up sex, its not necessary and just makes things cumbersome. lol just kidding, i dont know, i wanna give up something, just to be cool and say i gave up _______ for lent.... however i dunno what. probably cookies or something

[sass_in_the_pants]

Glad I'm not catholic because I don't know how I'd find something to give up. I guess it would have to be something like TV watching or computer time because I've already cut out most sugar, don't smoke, don't drink, don't do drugs.

What is the reason for Lent? I am not familiar for the Catholic faith and not sure of the reasons behind it. How long do you give up these things for?

Lent is a period of 40 days leading up to Easter. Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days, so in imitation of his life, Catholics are also called to self-sacrifice during the 40 days of Lent. And Self-sacrifice can take many different faces. It's not always sacrificing a carnal pleasure. Maybe you sacrifice your pride, and apologize to a loved one that you have wronged. Maybe you sacrifice your drive for success and work less and spend more time with your family. Maybe you sacrifice your anger, and instead of lashing out, you open up an avenue for discussion. Lent is all about making what will hopefully be a permanent change in your behavior. So, the people who say 'I can't wait for Lent to be over so I can eat candy again', well, they didn't quite get the message.

Now, it is important to remember that what you 'give up' during Lent, you are giving up for the sake of God, not out of self-interests. So, let's say I want to go on a diet, so I tell myself that I'm giving up fried foods for Lent. No good. It doesn't count. I'm not making a sacrifice for the right reason, so God's not particularly interested.

The other components of Lent are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. So, Catholics are called to more prayer during this time. This is also the time that if you have not had confession, you go to confession. As fr as the fasting goes, we are called to fast on Fridays during Lent (it used to be that you fasted for the whole 40 days). You are also called to abstain from meat. The point of fasting is to imitate Christ, but it is also to remind you of the poverty-stricken who go with hunger pangs for much longer than a day. And abstaining from meat, since traditionally meat was not something the poor could afford, again, this is to remind us of those less fortunate than us. Going out for lobster on a Friday in Lent because you can't eat meat, by the way, also falls into the category of 'things that aren't particularly pleasing to God'. You are supposed to be living simply during this time. And lastly, the almsgiving, Catholics are called to increase their charitable donations during this time, again, as a form of self-sacrifice and to remind them of those who are less fortunate.

So, for me and my husband, this is a time for us to re-evaluate our priorities. The fact is, we party too much. I don't smoke, drink excessively, do drugs, or overindulge in food. However, we go out with our friends at least five of the seven nights of a week and so an embarrassing amount of our wages are going to Detroit's local bars. So, during Lent, no restaurant food. We will make simple meals at home. And, the hardest part, no bars. Oh well, it will all be over in 40 days, right? :innocent

[Homicidalheathen]

Um I am not catholic but I can ask my sis what she is giving up.....last year she suffered migranes cause it was coffee.

[Onyx]

Interesting to know. Thanks for the explanation, especially the reasons for Lent.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

So, where, in the Bible is Lent called for? Or is it just another thing the Catholics made up?

[sass_in_the_pants]

So, where, in the Bible is Lent called for? Or is it just another thing the Catholics made up?

Lent is not called for in the Bible. Fasting and Penance, however, are. Lent is simply the time during which Catholics, along with several other Christian denominations, perform their fasting and penance.

[Steven]

Lent is not called for in the Bible. Fasting and Penance, however, are. Lent is simply the time during which Catholics, along with several other Christian denominations, perform their fasting and penance.

Very good job Sass, I am quite impressed, because you got to the root of the motivation behind lent as opposed to the ritual.

I am considering very seriously practicing this ritual for the first time, meaning an intentional form of sacrifice for an extended period of time.....in order that it moves beyond ritual and into revelation.

When you look at the example of Christ, he did some things with regularity:

he would go off by himself to lonely places in the wilderness in order to have alone time with God. This gave him focus, spiritual strength, single mindedness in a hostile social environment, and increased his dependency on The Father's empowerment. That trips people out who struggle withe the concept that Christ was alllegedly a man and yet God at the same time I (incidently I do beleive this as well).

Biblically, the description of Christ's taking on mortality is that of "emptying" himself, deliberately reducing his authority and strength to to be a mere man, to walk in our skin, to embrace the struggles of the common man, to be tempted, to endure suffering, and to connect with intimacy. How tempting it must have been MANY times when he was rejected, accused, arrested, chased down, slandered. exhausted, over compromised, over burdoned, to simply say FUCK THIS and return to his former position. We've sort of touched onthis same scenario with Vampyro's "time machine" thread.

Satan also knew that this temptation (to return to Glory) would confront Christ, and that is why he persued him in the wilderness and attempted to provide a temporary shortcut to Christ's unbeleivable task. Satan quoted scripture at Christ in order to raise his anger. he used pride in order to get Christ to excercise his spiritual authority against his own mortality as he stood at the edge of the cliff ("hurl yoruself downward") and he used Christs basic humanity against him after fasting for 40 days, to get him to eat bread - to shortcut his humanity by turning rocks into loaves. It is the same temptation that Moses failed at - when he overstepped his bounds of God Given authority by pridefully causing water to spew from the rocks to save the Israelites.

Christ sacrificed his abilities and authority many times before he went to the cross. And remember too that he feared the suffering of the Roman crucifix and the madness of the crowd and in Gethesemane he asked the father to spare him of this suffering "if there was any other way" - but then immediately countered his own fear by saying "not my will but YOUR will be done....." Remember too that he chastized peter for attacking the roman Gaurd with a sword and reminded him that he could call "legions of Angels" to defend him if he willed it - he was NOT powerless. But he set that authority aside as a servant of man. he accepted a heinous punishment as an innocent man, he accepted false accusations and testimony against him as an innocent man. He sent his own will aside for the benefit of all. Christ had allready been mocked as a fool. He knew that taking his message all the way to the Cross would only increase that mockery, and he was right.

We ridicule him more even today, or simply try to deny that he ever existed, spit at his church, fault find his Saints, slander his life with complex plausible scenarios.....but I've never ONCE met a man, ever, anywhere, who had the courage to do what he did, let alone show the empathy that he showed in befreinding and championing the lost and the dregs of society, prostitutes, lepers, unclean, castaways, etc. And that too is why so many men hate him, because they cannot live up to the standard. And neither can I. But I love the standard, I admire it greatly, and so I am constantly trying to reach for it as a beacon for my own life and identity and I trust God to do what he will with the rest of it....

..................and there is Lent. there it is.

so I'm thinking, for myself, what do I cling to that is "mine".....that brings me comfort, or security? Its not steak. Its not sweets. Its not ritual. In fact I'm not sure exactly what it is right now....so I'm askign God to reveal that to me. To fast ritually or within safety is not fasting at all. Its bullshit. Its what the Sanhedrins (religeous authority) used to do in Jesus' day....when they fasted they wore sackcloth and used ash on their face and drug themselves around for the public to see how "holy" they were, and Christ HATED them for it and called them on it, it was disgusting to him. He told his followers to fast in secret, wear a smile, tell no one, and "the Father who looks upon you in secret will reward you in secret."

I love that. he was simply asking people to be real, to be genuine. when was the last time you saw genuine? I've ben to alot of places, known alot of people, seen alot of things. But genuine? I see that very rarely. Including in myself.

thank you Sass, for opening up this door.

Steven

[BrassFusion]

I think I'll give up being a bitch for lent.

why the hell not...

[torn asunder]

again this year, i'm giving up lent...

[Brenda Starrr]

I'm giving up NOTHING. I've grown tired of nothing, so I'll give it up.

[the eternal]

Jesus was way cool

Everybody liked Jesus

Everybody wanted to hang out with him

Anything he wanted to do, he did

He turned water into wine

And if he wanted to

He could have turned wheat into marijuana

Or sugar into cocaine

Or vitamin pills into amphetamines

He walked on the water

And swam on the land

He would tell these stories

And people would listen

He was really cool

If you were blind or lame

You just went to Jesus

And he would put his hands on you

And you would be healed

That's so cool

He could've played guitar better than Hendrix

He could've told the future

He could've baked the most delicious cake in the world

He could've scored more goals than Wayne Gretzky

He could've danced better than Barishnikov

Jesus could have been funnier than any comedian you can think of

Jesus was way cool

He told people to eat his body and drink his blood

That's so cool

Jesus was so cool

But then some people got jealous of how cool he was

So they killed him

But then he rose from the dead

He rose from the dead, danced around

Then went up to heaven

I mean, that's so cool

Jesus was way cool

No wonder there are so many Christians

[Msterbeau]

I think I will continue to give up being Catholic. I'm remarkably dedicated to that, painful as it may be.

[Steven]

Jesus was way cool

Everybody liked Jesus

Everybody wanted to hang out with him

Anything he wanted to do, he did

He turned water into wine

And if he wanted to

He could have turned wheat into marijuana

Or sugar into cocaine

Or vitamin pills into amphetamines

He walked on the water

And swam on the land

He would tell these stories

And people would listen

He was really cool

If you were blind or lame

You just went to Jesus

And he would put his hands on you

And you would be healed

That's so cool

He could've played guitar better than Hendrix

He could've told the future

He could've baked the most delicious cake in the world

He could've scored more goals than Wayne Gretzky

He could've danced better than Barishnikov

Jesus could have been funnier than any comedian you can think of

Jesus was way cool

He told people to eat his body and drink his blood

That's so cool

Jesus was so cool

But then some people got jealous of how cool he was

So they killed him

But then he rose from the dead

He rose from the dead, danced around

Then went up to heaven

I mean, that's so cool

Jesus was way cool

No wonder there are so many Christians

yeah dude, you just painted a perfect potrait of me and how I roll.

[Hellion]

Beer

,NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,lol!!!

[sass_in_the_pants]

so I'm thinking, for myself, what do I cling to that is "mine".....that brings me comfort, or security? Its not steak. Its not sweets. Its not ritual. In fact I'm not sure exactly what it is right now....so I'm askign God to reveal that to me. To fast ritually or within safety is not fasting at all. Its bullshit. Its what the Sanhedrins (religeous authority) used to do in Jesus' day....when they fasted they wore sackcloth and used ash on their face and drug themselves around for the public to see how "holy" they were, and Christ HATED them for it and called them on it, it was disgusting to him. He told his followers to fast in secret, wear a smile, tell no one, and "the Father who looks upon you in secret will reward you in secret."

I love that. he was simply asking people to be real, to be genuine. when was the last time you saw genuine? I've ben to alot of places, known alot of people, seen alot of things. But genuine? I see that very rarely. Including in myself.

thank you Sass, for opening up this door.

Steven

Aw, shucks, you're welcome. But, you know, I didn't write the playbook. I just telling people what's in it. =)

My girlfriend fasts for Rammadan. The funny thing is, several years ago, she moved to Saudi. Okay, that's not the funny part, that part actually sucks. Here's the funny part. Do you know what they do in Saudi during Rammadan? They close everything during the day and have business open at night. There's no sacrifice. They simply flip their schedules to make adhering to the ritual easier. After her first Rammadan in Saudi, she called me, "It's bullshit, I tell you! How is it that I am living in the holiest place there is to live and I feel farther from God than I ever have before? I was a better Muslim in the US than I could ever be here. In the US, it was a CONSTANT struggle to fast. It was private. It was difficult. But, it worked. And here, it's this empty gesture. I don't even want to do it here. It's just pointless." Can you believe it? She was frustrated because fasting was made easier for her. But, that's the way she's always been. That wasn't what fasting was meant to be and that just ticked her right off.

Now, me, on the other hand, well, let's just say I'm made of much weaker stock. I once slapped a waiter's hand for taking away my fries before I was finished. I mean, slapped, like THWACK! Open palmed, slice through the air, Susan Lucci would be proud kind of slap. And he was just a waiter. He seemed shocked. So was I, but bitch tried to take my fries.

Sigh. See what I mean? Weaker stock.

I'm not even sure if I'll be able to keep my lenten promise of dedicating more time to solitude. I'm a social person, what can I say? Actually, I can say alot, which is my problem. This Lent, I am going to try to learn the fine art of shutting up. But, that hasn't started quite yet, so...I'll go on.

And what you said about being genuine reminded me of St. Francis of Assisi. I love that guy. He was a fucking lunatic. Seriously, for the same reason that I love People magazine, I love the saints. They're all so fucked up. Anyway, the story about St. Francis was when someone insisted that he wear a fox skin under his tunic, he insisted that one be sewn on the outside as well. So that he wasn't hiding anything. Genuine. What a fucking wacko, but he was probably fun at parties.