Lent 2009

[Lalaith]

I'm curious as to what everyone who observes Lent will be doing this year. What will you be giving up? What will you do to replace what you give up? What activities, if any, do you have planned?


I am going to an Ash Wednesday service at noon. I've started a unit study of sorts for the girls and am planning on doing different activities throughout the Lenten season in preparation for Easter.

I have decided to give up my morning internet time. Normally, I stumble out of bed, make myself a cuppa Irish Breakfast, and eat my breakfast while checking emails, checking here and b77 and Facebook, etc. Then I crack the whip at some point and go off to do schoolwork with the girls.

Well, I am going to forgo that morning internet time and replace it with reading the book that Di sent me, which I started this morning and love. It's The Flame of Sacred Love by Brother Ramon.

(Of course, I'm on the internet right now. This morning is unique, because the girls are away at a science day thing. So I don't have to go start school; I spent the first part of my morning reading the book and looking up Scripture.)

So I'm interested in what others are doing. And this would be a good place to share any other thoughts or insights gained throughout the Lenten season.

[Elentári]

Great idea for a thread, Lalaith!

Well, I've got our Ash Weds service tonight, and I guess I should really give up some internet time, I'm on here far too much

I'm going out for a curry with the girls I work with tomorrow night...so I'm not really thinking of giving up any food for Lent. Maybe I will forgo any alcohol till Easter as there was a report on the radio this morning saying that women who have even 1 unit of alcohol a day are increasing their risk of cancer in the future...

Somehow my Lent always seems to coincide with more rather than less - more singing because more services at church, and more celebrations because it's my birthday and my daughters in March, plus Mother's Day (so my husband gets caught twice for flowers this month!)

[yovargas]

Well, I am going to forgo that morning internet time

But why should all of us have to suffer for lent????

[Pearly Di]

Yay, Lent thread! Thanks, Lali.

Maybe I will forgo any alcohol till Easter as there was a report on the radio this morning saying that women who have even 1 unit of alcohol a day are increasing their risk of cancer in the future...

Darn. Fortunately, I don't drink alcohol once a day, but that IS worrying.

I'm not giving up chocolate. Or wine. Although I will imbibe both in moderation, not excess, this spiritual season. Like Lali, I am giving up the internet. Some of it. Obviously not this thread, right now. (And it's no penance for me to give up Facebook, because I'm never on blinkin' Facebook. )

But I AM going to take a break from my Live Journal. And ration the amount of time I spend and the sort of threads I visit elsewhere.

CUZ I SPEND WAY TOO MUCH TIME.

For the past few years I've read a book for Lent. Here's my choice for this year:
http://www.brf.org.uk/pages/data.asp?la ... +to+emmaus

I hope Mithluin drops in here. She put a funny Ash Wednesday button on her Live Journal. 'Apply directly to forehead'.

I like the idea of doing something proactive during Lent, like supporting a particular charity in some practical way, as well as giving something up (which I do think is good for you too).

I'm also going to try to practice fasting.

I read in an article recently that a good way to do it, for wimpy beginners like me, is to begin the fast from the evening onwards and break it next day with a (light) evening meal. So it's 24 hours but you spend some of that asleep.

[Teremia]

So it's 24 hours but you spend some of that asleep.

Now maybe I'm just still groggy this morning from not enough sleep, but seems to me ANY 24-hour period would have some sleep involved. Unless you're planning on giving up sleep for Lent!

And after this post, I promise I'm giving up snarkiness for the duration!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I almost pointed that out, too, Teremia. So you're not the only snarky one.

I do think that is the best way to fast for 24 hours though. That is what we do for Yom Kippor (which I actually have observed on occasion).

[Primula Baggins]

I think the hardest part of a fast is when you haven't eaten for about eight hours—which would fall neatly in the middle of sleep time by Di's plan. After that for some reason the hunger fades, and the remaining hours aren't so hard. Or so I remember.

I've seen that timetable recommended for people who fast one day a week. It also interferes less with other people in the household, because the meals completely missed are during the work day.

I may get to the Ash Wednesday service tonight, but it's not entirely in my hands. As for what I'm giving up—being sedentary all day. I'm going to try to walk, on the treadmill or outside, for a mile every day. A heartening checkup yesterday that showed I had lost 10 pounds in the last year literally without trying is giving me some motivation to be proactive about taking care of this body I apparently get to keep.

I'm also meeting once a week with a few other women to work through a video series called "Living the Questions," which is full of interviews with theologians and offers some challenging ideas.

[nerdanel]

Those who observe 25-hour fasts for Jewish holidays (Yom Kippur, Tisha B'Av) always fast from sundown to sundown, and I can promise that it's still *incredibly* difficult. I have not experienced this "hunger fading" thing. The worst hours are from around 11:30 AM to sundown on the main day of the fast; each hour gets more difficult. And, I've noticed that I at least get hungrier earlier on fast days - I think it's psychological. I used to never eat breakfast, and not get hungry before at least 12:30 normally, but still on a fast day I'd get hungry earlier than that. To be honest, I've fasted some years on Yom Kippur, not all; I've found that eating something light during the day helps me to get SO MUCH more out of the day spiritually. I don't think fasting is a spiritual practice that does much for me.

And with that, I'll get out of the Lent thread.

[solicitr]

I've decided to give up Hope. I may in fact give it up permanently.

Hope is of course hard to give up. It's comforting and psychologically addictive even in its traditional form. But now we're seeing the advent of Hopium, traditional Hope spiked with heavy doses of OPM, or Other People's Money. According to DEA this is not only highly addictive, but can lead to dependency and permanent brain damage.

So, abandon all Hope. Embrace the abyss: once you come down off the Hopium high it's plain that we're all well and truly screwed.

(Of course, there is a New Age religion spriniging up which claims ritual Hopium ingestion as a sacrament. . This may become the State Church, link, but it isn't yet. You just can't criticize it, that's all).

[Primula Baggins]

This is not the thread or the forum for politics, solicitr. Please take it elsewhere.

[Lalaith]

Thanks for the responses.

Di, the fast I usually choose to do is from nighttime to either lunchtime or dinnertime. Somehow I have a hard time fasting all day.

I like the idea of being proactive during Lent as well. Some of the ideas I have for the girls include going through clothes and toys to donate to charity, making food for an elderly neighbor and going for a visit, sending cards to loved ones, picking something to give up as a family and then donating that money to our church's building fund or to a charity, etc.

I have some fun things planned, too, like making Hot Cross Buns and pretzels. I'm going to look around for other ideas as well.

Does anyone have some good Easter or Passover traditions? (nel, you don't have to leave!)

[Frelga]

Those who observe 25-hour fasts for Jewish holidays (Yom Kippur, Tisha B'Av) always fast from sundown to sundown, and I can promise that it's still *incredibly* difficult.

I found out that I have no problem with Yom Kippur fasting so long as I spend the day at the synagogue, concentrating on the spiritual. And that's even though I still fixed food for my son, who is too young to fast. I did opt for drinking some water last year, but even dry fasts were easy. Much easier, in fact, than sticking to a simple diet.

I also have tried 36 hour fasts - from evening to morning the day after - on the advice of a crazy dietitian, and even those were not a major problem.

I hope you don't mind the sidetrack - just sharing my experience for those who haven't tried fasting before.

To all my friends who observe Lent, I wish you all the best in your spiritual journey.

[Elentári]

Lalaith - my daughter is collection with her Sunday School - they always do a collection in Lent - for an orphanage and AIDs care centre in Soweto where the son of a member of the congregation works. She is going to do some extra jobs and set aside some of her pocket money, as well as asking friends and family to contribute. She has been given a plastic 1 pint milk bottle to fill!

Also, one of the other local churches always runs a "Holiday Club" on Good Friday, which my daughter and youngest son usually go to, and they learn about the meaning of Lent & Easter, and do crafts and music.

[Lurker]

We just attended Ash Wednesday services today. The babies were kinda' taken aback when the priest put ashes on their forehead cause most of the time the priest will just lay their hands over their head.

I haven't decided yet what to give up.

Mine is not an easter tradition but a Good Friday tradition. We go to 14 different churches for each 14 Stations of the Cross. I have the list of the 14 churches in Calgary and mapped out our route. We are not taking the car, as a sacrifice we are taking public transpo. Our goal is to visit the 14 churches before 3:00 pm (before the mass starts).

[Inanna]

Lent! Ash Wednesday!! That's why so many people in NY had the ash thingy on their forehead yesterday. I simply could not figure it out!!

Fasting is easy for me as long as I'm doing it for reasons linked to R. Else I can't do it.

[Lalaith]

Elentári, that is neat! I wonder if there is something like the Holiday Club around here anywhere.

We will be collecting for the Annie Armstrong offering as well (North American missions).


Lurker, I can imagine the look on the babies' faces! Your tradition for Good Friday is really cool. Wow!

Mahima,

[Elentári]

Lalaith - the church's holiday club has a great name - the "Kingfisher" Club - neat, huh?

[Lalaith]

I like that!

(Being a bird nerd, however, the first thing that comes to mind is this:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBi ... isher.html )

[Elentári]

Ah, our Kingfishers look like this:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdgui ... /index.asp

[Inanna]

And with Kingfisher, what comes to my mind (and quite a lot of Indians) is this:

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:q_y ... fisher.jpg