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Lent, what are ya giving up?

My favorite story I have heard about Lent came from one of my many bosses at DePaul.

One of his non-Catholic friend asked him when Lent was because he was giving up diet coke before 10am. My boss said he would get emails at 9.30 about how his friend wanted his diet coke. His friend asked him when Lent ended and my boss' response was the Pope decided that since the whole world was really bad this year he was extending Lent for two more weeks...

...His friend, who thinks it is still Lent, was talking with his friend saying he really wished Lent would be over. Everyone was looking at the friend like he was crazy because this was about the Wednesday after Easter. I guess the friend did not realize that Lent ended with Easter. :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
 
Cecropia said:
I used to give things up, like caffeine or sugar or tv... but it didn't help me focus on the season. Adding prayer or service time is better for me. My goal so far is to fit in 20 minutes of Bible reading each morning.
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This is what I'm trying to do as well. When I was a kid it was all about picking something to give up and generally I'd fail. For a while I didn't really bother trying to give anything up since it never worked out for me to begin with. The past few years I've been trying to do positive things and it seems to bring a bit more meaning to the season.
 
So I asked my pastor why Presbyterians don't give up something for Lent. This is what he wrote back. It is long but interesting to me and gives me pause to think and reflect. I hope you don't mind me sharing it here:

The difference in practice reflects the difference in attitude and heart at the time of the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The cycle of Mardi Gras and then Lent made people like John Calvin crazy. He was a more radical Reformer than Luther. Luther's principle was to retain from Roman Catholicism everything that was not forbidden by the principles of Scripture. Calvin's approach was to throw out the whole works of Roman Catholicism, build a truly Reformed Church on the principles of Scripture, and then work in anything from Catholicism that had positive support from the principles of Scripture. He never did find much of Catholicism to work back in. Now, Presbyterians are working back in some of Catholicism. Many of our churches have Ash Wednesday services, for example.


Calvin was austere, and post-Calvin Calvinists even more so. Such is often the case in history, followers are more extreme than the leader--"Reagan Republicans" now pledge never to raise taxes, even though Reagan himself raised them several times.


Calvin was suspicious of anything that came from Catholicism that hinted of "works righteousness"--that we can earn salvation by our own merits, works, etc. He wanted the whole heart of the Christian to be wholly devoted to Christ, 24/7/365. He wanted every day to be Good Friday and Easter in the heart. He resonated w. the spirit of the prophet who said, "ye people rend your hearts, rend your hearts and not your garments" (tear open). He believed in sincere and total repentance, turning toward God in heart, mind and soul, and living that way daily.


At its best, the RC practice of giving something up for Lent serves as a reminder that Christ gave his all, and we are to be giving our hearts to him. Calvin would have feared that it becomes a "token" that trivializes the sacrifice of Christ, and gets the tepid believer off the hook for total conversion, heartfelt dedication, complete surrender. In his mind, Mardi Gras would have been evidence of such an attitude in a tepid believer. If you can party like that one day and then "give something up" for Lent hoping for credit, where is your heart? He also did not like the cycle of sinning w. the idea that all you have to do is go to Confession, do penance, etc. He wanted the believer to be living in grace fully, daily. I tried to explain to someone once, there is nothing quite like the Calvinistic conscience. Not only are you not supposed to sin, you are not supposed to want to sin. More, you are supposed to have the "My utmost for his Highest" attitude all the time. In gratitude for what Christ has done. At its extreme it is difficult to fathom, but when you are raised in that faith, it makes intuitive sense.
 
dgmarie said:
So I asked my pastor why Presbyterians don't give up something for Lent. This is what he wrote back. It is long but interesting to me and gives me pause to think and reflect. I hope you don't mind me sharing it here:

The difference in practice reflects the difference in attitude and heart at the time of the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The cycle of Mardi Gras and then Lent made people like John Calvin crazy. He was a more radical Reformer than Luther. Luther's principle was to retain from Roman Catholicism everything that was not forbidden by the principles of Scripture. Calvin's approach was to throw out the whole works of Roman Catholicism, build a truly Reformed Church on the principles of Scripture, and then work in anything from Catholicism that had positive support from the principles of Scripture. He never did find much of Catholicism to work back in. Now, Presbyterians are working back in some of Catholicism. Many of our churches have Ash Wednesday services, for example.


Calvin was austere, and post-Calvin Calvinists even more so. Such is often the case in history, followers are more extreme than the leader--"Reagan Republicans" now pledge never to raise taxes, even though Reagan himself raised them several times.


Calvin was suspicious of anything that came from Catholicism that hinted of "works righteousness"--that we can earn salvation by our own merits, works, etc. He wanted the whole heart of the Christian to be wholly devoted to Christ, 24/7/365. He wanted every day to be Good Friday and Easter in the heart. He resonated w. the spirit of the prophet who said, "ye people rend your hearts, rend your hearts and not your garments" (tear open). He believed in sincere and total repentance, turning toward God in heart, mind and soul, and living that way daily.


At its best, the RC practice of giving something up for Lent serves as a reminder that Christ gave his all, and we are to be giving our hearts to him. Calvin would have feared that it becomes a "token" that trivializes the sacrifice of Christ, and gets the tepid believer off the hook for total conversion, heartfelt dedication, complete surrender. In his mind, Mardi Gras would have been evidence of such an attitude in a tepid believer. If you can party like that one day and then "give something up" for Lent hoping for credit, where is your heart? He also did not like the cycle of sinning w. the idea that all you have to do is go to Confession, do penance, etc. He wanted the believer to be living in grace fully, daily. I tried to explain to someone once, there is nothing quite like the Calvinistic conscience. Not only are you not supposed to sin, you are not supposed to want to sin. More, you are supposed to have the "My utmost for his Highest" attitude all the time. In gratitude for what Christ has done. At its extreme it is difficult to fathom, but when you are raised in that faith, it makes intuitive sense.
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One of my ex's was named Calvin, so I gave him up. :snort:
 
bunnee585 said:
I'm not giving up anything. It was taught to me at a very young age that you give up something for Lent in order to make it a permanant change in your life. After Lent you don't go back to what it was you gave up.

I'll be doing something instead. Not sure what yet, because there's so much of me I'd like to change, but I'll be there by morning.
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Well, I guess I will not be giving up my Friday beer....LOL I enjoy sitting on the couch on Friday having a beer with my hubby. Back to thinking!
 
Today, I went to the grocery store looking for among other things tomato sauce. You know, one without sugar and definitely no fake sugar. I found 2... both by classico. So, while I am striving to not have sugar, after spending 15 minutes reading labels, I have decided I am not trying to reinvent the wheel in this no sugar trial. I am not opening the sugar bowl.... and striving to use foods without any added sugars.
 
mrsmom said:
You bad ****! :p
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I know, right! Bad to the bone! LOL....my kid's friends think it is funny to see a woman drinking a beer. They know that they can probably find me sitting on the couch at 7:00 p.m., having a beer...talking to DH...the boys joke when they pop their heads up the stairs and see me....as they are trailing back down stairs....they call out that it is 7:00....Mrs. L is having her beer....LOL
 
I thought about that one but knew I'd fail by 10 am... today.
 
I'm giving up stress and chips. When I'm stressed I grab a bag of chips.

Someone pray for dh. I wouldn't want to be in his shoes for the next 40 days.:lol:
 
Swale2010 said:
I know, right! Bad to the bone! LOL....my kid's friends think it is funny to see a woman drinking a beer. They know that they can probably find me sitting on the couch at 7:00 p.m., having a beer...talking to DH...the boys joke when they pop their heads up the stairs and see me....as they are trailing back down stairs....they call out that it is 7:00....Mrs. L is having her beer....LOL
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Swale are you from the south? In our midwest area a woman drinking a beer would not be unusual, even from a bottle. I have been to South Carolina and they looked at my girlfriends and myself lilke we had two heads for drinking a beer from a bottle in a public place.

And to get back on topic. I also do something positive each day during lent instead of giving something up.
 
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