Categories: faith
Date: 19 February 2007 17:10:51
So, the annual panic about "what am I going to do for Lent?" has begun, even among people who will then have nothing to do with the joy and splendour of the Risen Christ at Easter. Never understood that, personally - Lent is a time to walk with Our Lord through the desert, and then rejoice at the empty tomb on Easter morning. Why "do" Lent but then not "do" Easter? And don't get me started on the legalism of the woman who had given up chocolate for Lent and was presented with a slice of marble cake as dessert. Instead of either declining with a polite "no thank you," or, if that would have caused offence, eating it with a joyful heart (or palming it to the dog), she spent twenty minutes carefully scraping off the chocolate icing, and cutting out the chocolate parts of the sponge cake before eating the vanilla parts.
So, I would suggest taking up things that will help you in your walk through the desert, and, if necessary, abstaining from things which do not help you, so that you can stand before the empty tomb with joy.
For example - giving up chocolate. How will fasting from chocolate help you, and bring you closer to God? You could say a prayer every time you crave chocolate, thus performing one of the other Lenten disciplines, namely prayer. You could give the money you normally spend on chocolate to charity, thus encompassing the third Lenten discipline (almsgiving). But giving up chocolate, in and of itself, is pointless unless you then use it as a prompt to bring you closer to God.
Abstaining from television or the Internet, is all well and good, but think about what you will spend the time on instead. "I watch so much television that my Bible reading is being skimped on, and Compline is prayed with CSI on in the background. Therefore, I will abstain from television in order that I can do my Bible reading and pray the Divine Office free from distractions." Or "I am spending so much time on the internet that my family life is suffering. Therefore, I am going to unplug the modem and use the time to talk to my family, and do things with them."
We should avoid praying loudly on street corners, and going round looking miserable in order to draw attention to the fact that we are fasting. We do not want to appear in the next Harry Enfield sketch: "excuse me, but I couldn't help noticing that I am considerably holier than thou."
Be careful to maintain a proper balance - if your family life is suffering because you are spending all your time at church or with your nose buried in your Bible, then you need to reassess your priorities. If your chosen fast would cause offence (by turning down someone's lovingly-crafted chocolate cake), or would prevent you from carrying out your family or work responsibilities, because you're so weak from lack of food that you spend all your time fainting on the sofa, then you need to look at your chosen disciplines - family should always come first, and we should not give anyone cause to say that "Christians use their God as an excuse to dodge responsibilities and be rude." I'm sure Our Lord would be more understanding about a slice of chocolate cake that breaks a Lenten fast, than of someone feeling angry or hurt because of something done to them in His Name.
Some people say they are more likely to say Grace over a fasting meal than a non-fasting meal. But if you're just giving up chocolate because "argh, I've got to give something up, whatcanIdowhatcanIdo? I'll give up chocolate cos everyone else is," then that's a bit of a cop out. You need to be sure why you're doing what you're doing, rather than plucking something out of your metaphorical hat. Try and address something that you struggle with - there would be no point me giving up chocolate because I rarely eat it anyway, but there are other things that come between me and God that I need to focus on.
Don't come up with a massive laundry list of penances, it is better to choose a couple of things and do them, and do them well, than to overwhelm yourself with giving up this and taking up that, and get discouraged and give up half way through.
And one final thought - I was taught that it was the height of rudeness (nearly as bad as asking someone why they didn't receive Communion), to either ask people what they were doing for Lent, or tell people what you were doing yourself, unless you wanted the accountability and prayerful support of your friends. So, I won't be telling you what I'm doing (although I will say that "giving up coffee" does not appear on the list, so everyone can relax on that score), but I ask your prayers, and offer mine to you, as we walk, in penitence and sorrow for our sins, through the desert towards the empty tomb together.
And who knows? The habits you form during the forty days may well stick with you for life - it only takes 21 days for a habit to form...