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JillD
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Visalia, California USA |
| Posts: | 600 |
| First Name: | Jill | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | heathen, EvFree, Messianic, LC-MS, Catholic 2007 |
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Posted: Thu Feb 1st, 2007 03:59 pm |
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I'm hoping for a link to an article that will help me understand the deeper meaning of giving something up for Lent: what it means to the person and what ought the significance to be of letting it go for a time. How to avoid it being simply for one's own benefit - for example, giving up chocolate with the actual motive of losing weight rather than the sacrifice accomplishing what it ought to accomplish.
Am I asking this question in a clear way?
What are others giving up and why, if it's OK to ask...?
Jill
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"The alternative to obedience is to turn the conversation into a cacophony of Christians making it up as they go along." - Fr. Richard John Neuhaus
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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 4981 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Thu Feb 1st, 2007 04:34 pm |
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JillD wrote: I'm hoping for a link to an article that will help me understand the deeper meaning of giving something up for Lent: what it means to the person and what ought the significance to be of letting it go for a time. How to avoid it being simply for one's own benefit - for example, giving up chocolate with the actual motive of losing weight rather than the sacrifice accomplishing what it ought to accomplish.
Fast and abstinence are required on certain days of Lent as a universal penance. An explanation of the history and current regulations on abstinence can be found at EWTN.
The idea of giving something up is not an official Church practice but, as the Council fathers stated, it falls into the category of a regional form of penance. The whole idea of Lent originally revolved around baptism; it is a time of self-inspection and self-improvement. It is a willing sacrifice offered to Jesus in recognition of the sacrifice he made for us. For example, if I am accustomed to eating chocolate and give it up for Lent, then each time I crave a piece of chocolate and do without, I am reminding myself of the sacrifice Jesus made for me. It keeps the penitential purpose of Lent foremost in my mind. So I'm really helping myself to become a better person and a better Christian.
What are others giving up and why, if it's OK to ask...?
Any question is OK, as long as it's sincerely asked. I don't generally give up anything. I try instead to be more prayerful, to attend daily mass more often, to pray the rosary daily, to attend the Way of the Cross. So in effect, I'm giving up time.
I have diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, so I've already given up smoking, salt, and sweets, and I don't drink enough to matter. There's not an awful lot left!
You had asked for a link to an article or something. St. Charles Borromeo Church in Picayune, MS, has a book available online called "Glad You Asked" that has answers to a great many questions, including this one. The answer is on page 72. There is also an HTML version available if you don't have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed. It's available here.
Last edited on Thu Feb 1st, 2007 04:48 pm by CajunRick
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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JillD
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Visalia, California USA |
| Posts: | 600 |
| First Name: | Jill | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | heathen, EvFree, Messianic, LC-MS, Catholic 2007 |
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Posted: Thu Feb 1st, 2007 05:25 pm |
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cajunrick wrote:
For example, if I am accustomed to eating chocolate and give it up for Lent, then each time I crave a piece of chocolate and do without, I am reminding myself of the sacrifice Jesus made for me. It keeps the penitential purpose of Lent foremost in my mind. So I'm really helping myself to become a better person and a better Christian.
Actually, as simple and straightforward as your answer is, it's just what I was thinking about! So, it can be chocolate, and it can have the secondary benefit of perhaps helping me shed a few pounds, but the primary effect is to hurt just a tad when I have to deny my cravings. Not much suffering compared to His, but I guess that's not the point. The point is to turn our thoughts toward Him and this helps us do that even more than normal.
Thank you!
____________________
"The alternative to obedience is to turn the conversation into a cacophony of Christians making it up as they go along." - Fr. Richard John Neuhaus
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CajunRick
Network Helper
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Posted: Thu Feb 1st, 2007 06:12 pm |
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JillD wrote: point is to turn our thoughts toward Him and this helps us do that even more than normal.
Like prayer, the purpose of penance is to change us. It is of little benefit if it leaves us unchanged. If the end result is to make you a better person spiritually and physically, so much the better.
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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sweetyface17
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 11th, 2007 |
| Location: | Hudson, Michigan USA |
| Posts: | 43 |
| First Name: | Mandy | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Lutheran, Considering Catholicism |
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Posted: Thu Mar 15th, 2007 11:49 am |
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cajunrick wrote:
Any question is OK, as long as it's sincerely asked. I don't generally give up anything. I try instead to be more prayerful, to attend daily mass more often, to pray the rosary daily, to attend the Way of the Cross. So in effect, I'm giving up time
I hope I'm doing this quote correctly. I'm doing the same thing. I'm a vegetarian for mostly religious reasons (though there are a lot of health benefits), and I usually give up chocolate or candy in general, but I tend to enjoy the aspect of losing weight and having a better complexion too much.  So I'm giving more time to the Lord. I think this is the best one I've done, as I get to improve my relationship with God, and I don't have to battle with my horrible memory to remember not to eat certain things. That's always been a problem for me. I don't mean to do it, but if someone hands me something and says, "Here, eat this.", I don't even think about it. I sure hope no one ever tries to poison me. If they do, I'm in serious trouble!
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CajunRick
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 4981 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Thu Mar 15th, 2007 10:40 pm |
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sweetyface17 wrote: I hope I'm doing this quote correctly.
You did pretty well for a first-timer!
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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sweetyface17
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 11th, 2007 |
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Posted: Fri Mar 16th, 2007 11:07 am |
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| ^ Thank you!
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Current time is 09:20 am | |
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