Lent, Lent, Lent, Lent

As the weather outside suggests, it feels like a good time for brainstorming.

Ladies and gentlemen, Lent is upon us.  You know Lent, right? that reason we have Mardi Gras (and the reason it is always on a Tuesday), that begins on Ash Wednesday, that ends 40 days after it begins, that is based on and modeled after the biblical story of the temptation of Jesus in the desert, that ushers in the Easter season? that leave-you-guilt-ridden-because-you-forget-to-not-eat-meat-on-Friday liturgical season designed to suck the fun out of life before Easter comes and goes "expecto patronum" on that mug? you know, Lent!

To many people,  Lent means "no chocolate for 5 weeks." "Facebook fast" and "no meat on Friday...but delicious shrimp po-boys, crawfish boils and seafood gumbo are all go." ... I mean, chocolate IS delicious, social networking can be time-wasting and seafood isn't technically considered meat...everybody has their own degree of sacrifice. Anyway...

the other day i came across a pretty neat link on Lifeteen.com on Creative things to do for Lent and was amused, entertained and enlightened.  Check it out. it's worth the time you were going to spend perusing Facebook (or reading my words, for that matter)...


building on that fun little article, i dug up some of my favorite lenten sacrifices. i've done a couple, most are from my friends. and as always, these are actual penances...penanceses...penacanti...penanci...panini?...pensieves?...penances from actual people (names hidden so as to protect confidentiality and to promote the virtue of prudence):

- "I befriended someone i hated."
- "I met a new person every day."
- "did ALL my homework and assignments on my own and did not let my classmates to cheat off of me...it wasn't popular."
- "not skip any classes."
- "ate veggies instead of candy."
- "when i wanted to buy a candy bar, i'd put the money i would have spent on it into a charity box."
- "mine was to be vulnerable and ask out my crush" (<-- are="" cats="" heh.="" married="" now="" out="" these="" turns="">
- "Read Part III of the Catechism: Life in Christ"
- "No A/C or radio in the car...in Louisiana, that got kinda hot."
- "I'm really messy so I kept my room clean. It was harder than it sounds."
- "gave up fast food. so i inadvertently ended up fasting a lot."
- "Read an Encyclical each Sunday"
- "I gave up drinking beer and put the beer money in a jar."
- "i began tithing. i felt like i got punched in the gut at first, but once Lent was over i got used to it."
- "I gave up shaving...it was itchy."
- "One of the toughest things i've done was one year, any time i was itching, i didn't scratch. i just let it itch until it went away. THAT was tough."
- "I always complained about being out of shape, so i ran a mile every day. I didn't run on Sundays. At the beginning my time was just over 10 minutes but by the end i was well under 7 minutes! and i felt better about myself. I even started running 2 miles a day in the last two weeks!"


there are SO MANY things you can do during lent to prepare for Easter. please let me remind you that WHAT we give up (or add on) isn't nearly as important as WHY we give up (or add on). why is WHY more important than WHAT? for the bible tells me so:

"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing." - 1 Cor. 13:1-3

i understand that love in this context is a "what"...but it can also be the answer to "why" you do what you do.
so no matter what you choose to do for Lent; do it for love.

In all things, charity.

Peace,
Daytona