I’m going to memorise the rest of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets as an exercise in mental discipline. I’ve been working on them for a year, but I got stalled in the summer. I’m half done- I should be able to do it.
From East Coker, bit of an Easter thought, also hijack-
*The chill ascends from feet to knees,
The fever sings in mental wires.
If to be warmed, then I must freeze
And quake in frigid purgatorial fires
Of which the flame is roses, and the smoke is briars.
The dripping blood our only drink,
The bloody flesh our only food:
In spite of this we like to think
That we are sound, substantial flesh and blood-
Again, in spite of that, we call this Friday good.*
Lent. Yep. Tomorrow. Thanks for the reminder. Aside from the obligatory stuff (abstinence from meat on Fridays, Mass, Stations of the Cross, etc., and that annoying Easter communion obligation, which necessitates my annual visit to the confessional), yeah, there will be something I give up. Not sure what yet (and running out of time to figure it out). Meat? Not much of a sacrifice, as I could happily eat fish for the rest of my life. I’d give up fish, but I’m afraid my cholesterol would soar. Something to think about tonight.
There will be some extra reading of a religious or theological nature. Some extra financial contribution to the Church and various charities. I send what I can anyway, but for Lent I’ll stretch the definition of what I can afford a bit.
There you have it. Can’t say I especially “love” Lent, but I do take it seriously.
I was talking to my sister last night and we were discussing how we have major Catholic guilt. The topic of our strengths and weaknesses came up and we both had difficulty coming up with our strengths but had no problem coming up with weaknesses.
So I decided that for Lent, I’m going to write a 2-3 cards a week to good friends and tell them what strengths I see in them.
I will also give up eating out at the office more than once a week.
As a “new” Catholic, I can’t say as I exactly like Lent. But I do enjoy the personal challenges that it presents. I like having goals. I am giving up all fast food. We eat too much of it in our house anyway, and since we are working on getting in shape, it seemed like the natural choice.
I have found that Lent in “the South” is a little more difficult. There are no fish frys or other Lent-related activities like we had “up North”, as the Catholic population is fairly small. There is also very little public knowledge about it. Which means that I will have to hear “Hey-You have dirt or something on your forehead.” all day tomorrow. Not to mention the 500,000 questions about why I’m fasting and not eating meat that I will be obliged to answer throughout the season. While I appreciate the “opportunity to educate”, it DOES get tedious.
A non-catholic Christian here who is taking on a six-week regime of diet and exercise for Lent, rather than giving anything up.
Having said that, my wife is giving up television for Lent - so I guess that means that I will be effectively giving it up as well… which is probably a good thing - it is far too easily the default activity of an evening.
Yesterday I mentioned Lent & that it starts today to a friend in an e-mail, forgetting that her background is one that doesn’t include Lent. She came back, wanting to know what it was - or more, why it is observed the way it is. and cc’d some others - people that I know too, so it wasn’t a big deal.
Even though I grew up in the South, I was always in Catholic school and so I always assumed, and still have a tendency to think, that everyone knows what it is. It always comes as sort of a surprise when I get asked, but I don’t mind explaining.
Grrrrrrr, darn you auntie em! It’s early days yet. Maybe we should grill again at your house after Easter. Basil and garlic in the meat, like the other time. Our cafe has some good meatless dishes though, and a fine spinach pesto veggie sandwich. Stop by some time and I’ll treat!
Sorry to hijack, but I remember last year a couple people posted about how hard it was to keep up their sacrifices straight through from Ash Wednesday to Easter…including Sundays. A few others (including me ) mentioned that Sundays don’t count, so to speak, but I thought it bears repeating here just in case someone wasn’t aware of that fact.
Sundays are feast days celebrating the resurrection of Christ, so they’re not really considered part of the penitential season of Lent. (“How can you fast when the bridegroom is with you?” etc.)
Lissa Lissar - I wrote to my spiritual advisor and told him that I was going to read The Practice of the Presence of God. He said it was a classic, and he also recommended Abandonment to Divine Providence by Caussade. He’s going to read St. Maximus the Confessor’s Four Centuries of Charity for lent this year.
This thread is becoming a tradition of sorts. It’s great to see all the same faces, contemplating what they’re doing each Lenten season - it’s very inspiring. It also helps me come up with ideas, as I used to come up with the best ideas after Easter.
My place is a mess, as is my general demeanor lately. I think I’m going to make a very concerted effort to clean up both. There’s just generally too much waste in my life (wasted time, wasted food, wasted emotions, wasted energy, wasted money, etc.) and I need to consolidate and find my center.
gallows fodder, I don’t buy it. If Sundays weren’t a part of Lent, then the priest would be wearing green, the alter would be decorated, and the songs would be cheery. There’s an excellent discussion in this thread on the subject:
Only one thing about Lent that makes it at all significant to me is that it means Spring is getting closer. I feel the same way about baseball. I couldn’t give a rats ass about the Cubs or Sox, but when they start training, I know winters approaching it’s end.
My little sister (as an overly zealous Methodist) is giving up partying on thursdays. She thinks she has to replace it with something, I’ve never heard of this part of the tradition, is it really a tradition?
) mentioned that Sundays don’t count, so to speak, but I thought it bears repeating here just in case someone wasn’t aware of that fact.