Will you participate in Lent?

[catherine]

One should also remember that, strictly speaking, in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Episcopal traditions you're not allowed to observe Lent by giving up smoking, gambling, gluttony, or any other vice, because you already have a moral obligation to never do those things. And you're not allowed to observe Lent by being extra kind, generous, grateful, forgiving, or some other virtue, because you already have a moral obligation to always do those things to the best of your ability.

So, strictly speaking, what you do to observe Lent should be voluntarily giving up something you have an absolute moral and ethical right to do. Things like giving up tv or video games during Lent and using that time more productively qualify, So does eating less meat or something like that. Of course anything bad you refrain from doing and anything good that you do more of will be beneficial, but the point is to make a legitimate temporary sacrifice, not to temporarily do something that you should have already been doing all year. And BTW the 40 days of Lent don't include Sundays. Sunday is always a day of celebration, not a day of fasting.

Thank God for Sundays off!! Yes, I recall that you are correct in terms of the rules. When I was a kid, the lightweights would give up candy but the real Lenten heroes gave up TV. I still take it as an opportunity for the discipline of sacrifice. It usually challenges me, at least a little bit, to exercise my self-denial and put my self-will in place.

[happystuff]

How is everyone's Lenten practices going? Going well, I hope.