beatitude Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 (edited) can someone help me, i grew up in a presbyterian household where lent wasn't a thing. how do you 'do' lent? more importantly, what is the meaning i should invest in it while doing it? As others have said, it is a preparation for Easter. It parallels the forty days Jesus spent alone in the desert in fasting and prayer. Take it as an opportunity to spend time with Him there by trying to remove the things that you keep you away from Him. :) In my own case, fasting will mean giving up listening to music. I've noticed that I almost always have my earphones in when I'm out and about, especially on public transport. It's a way to pass the time when I'm bored. I am going to use that time to pray a bit instead or to talk to the people around me, as lately I think I have not been sensitive enough to the concerns and needs of others. I am also going to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet every day, for the gift of greater trust in God - it's a beautiful prayer, very focused on trust, which is something else I run short on from time to time. For almsgiving, every now and then I will skip a meal or a cup of tea that I would ordinarily have had in the university canteen, and the money will be added to a jam jar. The contents will be donated to a charity at the end of Lent. I haven't chosen which one yet. I keep the jar on my desk as a reminder to pray for the people the money is going to. It won't be a huge amount as I don't have much money at the moment. Equally, the Divine Mercy Chaplet is a short prayer - it takes only fifteen or twenty minutes to say. One thing I have learnt over the years is that it is easy for me to start Lent with a very demanding prayer regimen and a strict fast, but when I do that it quickly becomes more like a spiritual endurance competition than time spent with Jesus. If you've never observed Lent before, I would not recommend that you jump in with a big list of new things to do. Choose one or two things, things that fit with the spirit of Lent and that matter to you. It might be as simple as getting up half an hour earlier to pray or read a particular book from the Bible (getting up without hitting the snooze button at least once is a real sacrifice for some people!) but to paraphrase St Therese, it isn't the greatness of our actions that matters but the love with which we do them. Edited February 17, 2015 by beatitude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilllabettt Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 +no ice in my water (ugh) +no sugar in my tea (ugh) +no salt on my food (ugh ugh) +take the stairs instead of the elevator/escalator (triple ugh) + ... I keep trying to think of small ways to annoy myself. will take suggestions. charity is the rule: if a friend needs to go to a movie because she's having an emotional meltdown I am not going to stare into her red, tear-streaked face and tell her about my Lenten observance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4588686 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 +no ice in my water (ugh) +no sugar in my tea (ugh) +no salt on my food (ugh ugh) +take the stairs instead of the elevator/escalator (triple ugh) + ... I keep trying to think of small ways to annoy myself. will take suggestions. charity is the rule: if a friend needs to go to a movie because she's having an emotional meltdown I am not going to stare into her red, tear-streaked face and tell her about my Lenten observance. You should give me $10 every day to remember how Jesus said not to be like obsessed over money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartermia Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I just realized that Lent starts in like 3.5 hours... I don't know what I a giving up.... I guess I could do the giving up fiction books thing I have done for the past two years and sleeping with no pillow. :idontknow: Maybe a decade of the Seven Sorrows Rosary a day? I like to do either that or the Franciscan Crown because 7 days in a week 7 sorrows/joys. I just cannot pray a full Rosary every day and I feel really bad if I fall asleep during it since I pray it at night before I go to bed. And maybe read a chapter of Job a night/day since I like to read (understating that...) and I need something to occupy that time. I will do Lectio Divina on the book of Job. Someone please just read the last sentence by itself; I don't think I used "Lectio Divina" in the right context here... :paperbag: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4LoveofJMJ Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Giving up almost anything sweet and sweetish. Having the mindset of giving up earthly sweets for the sweets of Heaven helps make the sacrifice more fruitful each time I have a craving. I started doing this after I read something along the line of sacrificing sweets and what not without prayer is just a diet. I wish I wrote it down. However, I am NOT giving up sweets when my birthday comes around. I know it would be a huge sacrifice but if I gave up cake each time my birthday was in lent, I would never get one. I'm not saying I will go hog wild, just having a little bit. I'm not giving up my daily cup of coffee because I can't handle having a migraine every day with school and everything. I'm going to try to spend some time reading a spiritual book with the hopes of finishing some of the ones I am half way through. Listening only to Christian music. I really enjoyed doing it last year. Giving up pinterest. If I'm feeling especially penitential, I'll only go on it to look at the tasty food on a fast day or when my sweet tooth is making itself known. I accidentally did this last year and it surprised me how hard it was. And just trying to make more daily little sacrifices then usual. Nothing much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amppax Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I don't generally like broadcasting my sacrifices, but I figured that I should probably just warn everyone, I'll be gone for the forseeable future. I'm unplugging (as much as I can) this lent. Which means no phatmass, no facebook, no netflix, pretty much no internet (except what I need for class). We shall see how doable this is. I've done it in the past, but I'm a little hesitant about such a big fast (for me) at this particular time. That isn't the only thing I'm doing, but I figured it would be nice to tell y'all before I disappeared for most of the next 40+ days. I will make sure to pray for all of you, and your lenten fasts! God bless you in this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrysostom Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Most internet must go. For prayer, well, I think for me actually restarting my normal plan of life would be good. For alms-giving...I'm going to think about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuturePriest Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 I don't generally like broadcasting my sacrifices, but I figured that I should probably just warn everyone, I'll be gone for the forseeable future. I'm unplugging (as much as I can) this lent. Which means no phatmass, no facebook, no netflix, pretty much no internet (except what I need for class). We shall see how doable this is. I've done it in the past, but I'm a little hesitant about such a big fast (for me) at this particular time. That isn't the only thing I'm doing, but I figured it would be nice to tell y'all before I disappeared for most of the next 40+ days. I will make sure to pray for all of you, and your lenten fasts! God bless you in this season. Your presence shall be missed. ...Is he gone yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatitude Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 However, I am NOT giving up sweets when my birthday comes around. I know it would be a huge sacrifice but if I gave up cake each time my birthday was in lent, I would never get one. I'm not saying I will go hog wild, just having a little bit. I'm another one with a birthday that's always in Lent. Perhaps God thought that in scheduling my birth for then he was giving me the opportunity for extra penance and graces during Lent by way of a special birthday gift, but I find this unimpressive. Cake it is. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4LoveofJMJ Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I'm another one with a birthday that's always in Lent. Perhaps God thought that in scheduling my birth for then he was giving me the opportunity for extra penance and graces during Lent by way of a special birthday gift, but I find this unimpressive. Cake it is. :P Lol well it certainly has made planning parties and gatherings difficult! Now if one was giving up sweets, what would technically be considered a sweet? Would a plain croissant be considered a sweet? Muffins? Pancakes? I've always wondered about this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I added a very last minute thing. Start a prayer journal. A day in and I don't know why I didn't do this years ago. This is gonna make Lent easier for all the right reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IgnatiusofLoyola Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Lol well it certainly has made planning parties and gatherings difficult! Now if one was giving up sweets, what would technically be considered a sweet? Would a plain croissant be considered a sweet? Muffins? Pancakes? I've always wondered about this... I can't help you with the Catholic definition of whether these foods would be considered sweets. But, as a diabetic, all of these foods are no-no's for me. All of them are high in carbs, so they increase blood sugar. Croissants also have a lot of fat, and most muffins have a surprising amount of sugar. Once in awhile, I let myself have a couple of small pancakes, but with no butter or syrup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slappo Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I'm doing the T25 workout as well as daily mass once a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tab'le De'Bah-Rye Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 May the love of Christ be in your minds, in your hearts and upon your tounges. :) Thought you got rid of me huh? :P lol. I'm going to try and visit 3 people at least once that I haven't been visiting for 13 weeks since I moved and I don't like them very much, hopefully with the grace of GOD I can hold my tounge and love em anyway. God iz Good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopefulHeart Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 When I've given up sweets and then see chocolate in the kitchen cupboard, just begging me to eat it: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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