21/02: Lenten Discipline
Category: From the Heart
Posted by: an okie gardener
I'll try to post on the significance of Ash Wednesday sometime today. For now, I want to respond to Joab's comment on my Fat Tuesday post. He asked what was the value of traditional Lenten discipline: what's the big deal about giving up chocolate or something?
I think there is value in giving up something benign for Lent, be it chocolate, coffee, sweets, violence on television, or whatever.
First, without self-discipline there is no consistent Christian walk nor progress in the spiritual life. We must learn to say no to ourselves. Giving up something for Lent provides practice in self-denial.
Second, when we crave the thing we have given up, we can remind ourselves that Jesus Christ gave up the glory of heaven, emptying himself, and denying himself during his time on earth. In the book The Last Temptation of Christ, (much better than the movie), Jesus is tempted to live a normal life--marriage, home, children. These are all good things that he gave up for his mission.
Third, we all know that our bodily existence can at times be a hinderence to our service of God--the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Abstaining, whether a fast or the giving up of an innocent pleasure, uses the appetites of the body to strengthen the spirit. Our hunger, or our craving, reminds us to pray and to remember our Savior by reminding us that it is the season of Lent.
I think there is value in giving up something benign for Lent, be it chocolate, coffee, sweets, violence on television, or whatever.
First, without self-discipline there is no consistent Christian walk nor progress in the spiritual life. We must learn to say no to ourselves. Giving up something for Lent provides practice in self-denial.
Second, when we crave the thing we have given up, we can remind ourselves that Jesus Christ gave up the glory of heaven, emptying himself, and denying himself during his time on earth. In the book The Last Temptation of Christ, (much better than the movie), Jesus is tempted to live a normal life--marriage, home, children. These are all good things that he gave up for his mission.
Third, we all know that our bodily existence can at times be a hinderence to our service of God--the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Abstaining, whether a fast or the giving up of an innocent pleasure, uses the appetites of the body to strengthen the spirit. Our hunger, or our craving, reminds us to pray and to remember our Savior by reminding us that it is the season of Lent.
Tocqueville wrote:
Fasting during Lent has its origins in the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert fasting and praying. Days of fasting during Lent are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. On those days, Catholics over the age of 18 and younger than 60 should eat only one full meal. Two smaller meals can be eaten, but when combined, those two should not exceed the full meal.
Abstinence from meat is observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but is also practiced on Fridays throughout Lent in the United States. Actually, according to the Code of Canon Law, Catholics should abstain from meat every Friday throughout the year in addition to Ash Wednesday and several other days. But in 1966, the U.S. bishops amended the practice to include just Ash Wednesday and Fridays during Lent. They do, however, encourage Catholics to try to abstain from meat every Friday.