Saints Alive Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 40 days of fasting and focus on the Saviors mission and atonement, sounds pretty LDS to me! How can we put an LDS spin on lent? Link to comment
Tacenda Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 40 days of fasting and focus on the Saviors mission and atonement, sounds pretty LDS to me! How can we put an LDS spin on lent?So interesting! My TBM niece in-law posted about Lent on FB, which started everyone on there to say what they were going to do for it. I've never really known anything about Lent. I do remember going to lunch with my mom, sister and her MIL, who had a black smudge on her forehead (she's Catholic) and said it was Ash Wednesday. Still don't know much about this but would love to know more! Link to comment
3DOP Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 (edited) So interesting! My TBM niece in-law posted about Lent on FB, which started everyone on there to say what they were going to do for it. I've never really known anything about Lent. I do remember going to lunch with my mom, sister and her MIL, who had a black smudge on her forehead (she's Catholic) and said it was Ash Wednesday. Still don't know much about this but would love to know more!As a sombre season of reflection on the passion and death of our Lord, we begin Lent with ashes that remind us that we will return to dust ourselves. The fourth prayer that concludes the ceremony for the Blessing of the Ashes is as follows translated into English: "O almighty and eternal God, who forgavest the Ninivites when they did penance in sackcloth and ashes; mercifully grant us to imitate their penance, that we may obtain pardon of our sins. Through, etc. Amen." The reference is of course to the repentance of Nineveh at the preaching of Jonah. As the priest marks the foreheads of the faithful he recites: "Remember man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return."Although we are not strictly bound any more to fast and abstinence except for today and Good Friday, many Catholics observe the traditional discipline that was in place before the reforms of Vatican II. Many of the prayers of the Mass throughout Lent reflect the older discipline which assumes a fast with at least partial abstinence every day except Sundays is being observed for the forty days. That was what at first made me want to follow the older observance, even though it is not in effect anymore. There is hopefully interior peace and quiet joy during this time, but it weighs heavily too. You're ready for it to end. Especially after Holy Thursday and Good Friday with the altars stripped and the holy water gone. Those last days are necessarily sorrowful. On Good Friday we don't even genuflect because Jesus is gone. I hope nobody takes this the wrong way when I say it is kind of awful.So, listen if anybody is thinking about having forty days of fasting for Lent, it has to be followed with fifty days of feasting for Easter! No fasting without feasting. And of course I don't mean gluttony. Truly though, the joy of Easter after a good Lent, is hard to describe to those who tend to observe only holy days and not holy seasons.3DOP Edited February 13, 2013 by 3DOP 3 Link to comment
Duncan Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 after my local Burger King got held up I might be giving up me cheap Whopper Wednesday. Last year I gave up beer drinking but the Whiskey nearly killed me 1 Link to comment
Tacenda Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 (edited) As a sombre season of reflection on the passion and death of our Lord, we begin Lent with ashes that remind us that we will return to dust ourselves. The fourth prayer that concludes the ceremony for the Blessing of the Ashes is as follows translated into English: "O almighty and eternal God, who forgavest the Ninivites when they did penance in sackcloth and ashes; mercifully grant us to imitate their penance, that we may obtain pardon of our sins. Through, etc. Amen." The reference is of course to the repentance of Nineveh at the preaching of Jonah. As the priest marks the foreheads of the faithful he recites: "Remember man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return."Although we are not strictly bound any more to fast and abstinence except for today and Good Friday, many Catholics observe the traditional discipline that was in place before the reforms of Vatican II. Many of the prayers of the Mass throughout Lent reflect the older discipline which assumes a fast with at least partial abstinence every day except Sundays is being observed for the forty days. That was what at first made me want to follow the older observance, even though it is not in effect anymore. There is hopefully interior peace and quiet joy during this time, but it weighs heavily too. You're ready for it to end. Especially after Holy Thursday and Good Friday with the altars stripped and the holy water gone. Those last days are necessarily sorrowful. On Good Friday we don't even genuflect because Jesus is gone. I hope nobody takes this the wrong way when I say it is kind of awful.So, listen if anybody is thinking about having forty days of fasting for Lent, it has to be followed with fifty days of feasting for Easter! No fasting without feasting. And of course I don't mean gluttony. Truly though, the joy of Easter after a good Lent, is hard to describe to those who tend to observe only holy days and not holy seasons.3DOPThank you, I learned something new today. It would be nice to experience that combined with the Easter service at the end. The wimp that I am in fasting is a sad, sad thing. The other day I saw a quote about fasting and the devil. Something to the effect of, if you don't fast and pray, Satan can have more power over you. I've let go of fasting for the past few years and now think that was a mistake. But I've always been a terrible faster. LDS fast once a month as you're probably aware, and it was hard enough to miss just two meals. Of course I'm addicted to Diet Dr. Pepper and need to get my day started and could go without food but not my drink, terrible I know. I can't kick the habit.I love learning about the Catholic faith from you. I don't know many Catholics, other than my bro in law and my niece (she joined as an adult), it's nice to learn a little of what she now believes. My sister hasn't been active since her teens in the LDS church and she and her husband don't go to either church. Edited February 14, 2013 by Tacenda Link to comment
Damien the Leper Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 I got my ashes yesterday and I gave up all animal product and New Testament studies for Lent. Can you take a guess at which one will be most difficult for me? 1 Link to comment
Tacenda Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 I got my ashes yesterday and I gave up all animal product and New Testament studies for Lent. Can you take a guess at which one will be most difficult for me?New Testament studies? But don't quite comprehend. Link to comment
Damien the Leper Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 New Testament studies? But don't quite comprehend.You're good! I'm giving it up because I spend too much time with it. I decided to take the next 40 days to spend time with the Hebrew Bible and the Book of Mormon. 1 Link to comment
Tacenda Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 You're good! I'm giving it up because I spend too much time with it. I decided to take the next 40 days to spend time with the Hebrew Bible and the Book of Mormon.Got it, but would love to be a person that read any segment of the bible too much! Link to comment
3DOP Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 New Testament studies? But don't quite comprehend.Tacenda, I'll tell you a funny one from one of the first years after our family converted. Our oldest daughter was maybe fourteen and I noticed one Sunday that she who had always joined in congregational singing with enthusiasm was standing silent like a lot of kids tend to do when they start the teen years. After Mass I wanted to find out was wrong, you know? Was my little girl going to start being ashamed to join in? Nope. She gave up singing for Lent!I thought that was one of the silliest things to give up and I even tried to talk her out of it. It seems like giving up prayer. Oh yeah I just love to pray so I am sacrificing that. Anyway, she wouldn't budge and I let it go. I haven't noticed if she sings anymore even though she and her husband come to our Mass. We don't usually sit together. I am going to have to make an effort to discover if she is still singing. I kind of bet she is, unless she gave it up for Lent again!Giving up the Bible kind of reminded me of that although I see he is not really giving it up. Heh. Link to comment
Recommended Posts