Lent

[saemo]

Joking at work what I was giving up for Lent. It was Valentines abd exhanged with partner, Rocky Road and Chocolate. I had vowed for Lent was i was giving up sticking my hands on the communal lolly jar. I saw something more interesting on Patheos about what we could give up for Lent and other parts of the church year.

“Give up complaining—focus on gratitude.

“Give up pessimism—become an optimist.

“Give up harsh judgments—think kindly thoughts.

“Give up worry—trust Divine Providence.

“Give up discouragement—be full of hope.

“Give up bitterness—turn to forgiveness.

“Give up hatred—return good for evil.

“Give up anger—be more patient.

“Give up pettiness—become mature.

“Give up jealousy—pray for trust.

“Give up gossiping—control your tongue.

“Give up sin—turn to virtue.

“Give up giving up—hang in there!”

More than a few of these I struggle with - well here goes.

yes, most know of the seven deadly sins because they are often referencd in popular media. Most don't know and bring to mind the seven virtues, which are the opposite, or counteract the seven deadly sins.

Chastity - lust

Temperance - gluttony

Charity - greed

Diligence - sloth

Patience - anger

Kindness - envy

Humility - pride

One lent I worked specifically on replacing anger with patience.

[saemo]

Hey saemo, thanks for the nice remarks. I don't think I am misunderstanding you, so please correct if i am. I think you are very correct about how the idea of the benefits suffering is foreign. To someone unfamiliar, I am afraid that my post could appear to be in conflict when I think we both know they are not.

So to clarify both of our points, I want to try to tie in what you just said about our sufferings, with what I just said about our sacrifices needing to be good things. When we "offer up" our physical sufferings what we are really saying is that we don't want to squander an opportunity to let God know that our good health belongs to Him. Even though it is already taken, as an exercise in seeing God's hand even in what the world thinks of as bad, our willingness to be resigned to ill health is a most worthy sacrifice. And one that is very hard to make...In this case, the good which we are willing to sacrifice is our health. Sometimes, even though it doesn't help, it is really hard to embrace that chronic condition, headache, or even little nagging aches and to be willing to say to God in those times that our health belongs to Him to dispose of.

3DOP

Beautifully said. Thanks.

[saemo]

The gospel reading tomorrow is Luke 4:1-13. In a discussion I will be leading after Mass, I plan to examine the three fold temptation of Christ. It is summed up in 1 John 2:16 "For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world." It echoes the three fold temptation of Adam and Eve in the garden. Where Adam and Eve gave into temptation, Jesus shows us the counter response that keeps us from the path of sin.

The group that is meeting are comprised of those who have been preparing for baptism, and will be baptized at Easter Vigil. Lent is, for this group, an intensified period of reflection and deepening conversion. I only bring it up because I think the question of what is lent, can be answered by these two things, an intensified period of reflection and deepening conversion, as conversion to Christ is a life long process. So we look to Jesus himself, to see how we conform our lives to him. Reflection is required, a willingness and courage to honestly examine oneself. No one does this for you, and you can't do it for anyone else. It is a process that is between you and God.

Of course, lent is not the only period of time this is appropriate, the same is required for a meaningful confession. Lent gives us the opportunity as a Church, parish, families and friends, to deepen what is already considered the norm for Catholic life.

[why me]

Of course, lent is not the only period of time this is appropriate, the same is required for a meaningful confession. Lent gives us the opportunity as a Church, parish, families and friends, to deepen what is already considered the norm for Catholic life.

And I hope that the people observing lent will continue to find meaning in lent throughout the year and not forget the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross.

[Storm Rider]

13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. This 13th Article of Faith goes a long way to encourage each of us to seek for and emulate that which is good in the world. Brigham Young was even more explicit: "It is our duty and calling, as ministers of the same salvation and Gospel, to gather every item of truth and reject every error. Whether a truth be found with professed infidels, or with the Universalists, or the Church of Rome, or the Methodists, the Church of England, the Presbyterians, the Baptists, the Quakers, the Shakers, or any other of the various and numerous different sects and parties, all of whom have more or less truth, it is the business of the Elders of this Church to gather up all the truths in the world pertaining to life and salvation, to the Gospel we preach, … to the sciences, and to philosophy, wherever it may be found in every nation, kindred, tongue, and people and bring it to Zion." As we stand on the foundation of Jesus Christ we are not really concerned about where truth comes from; we claim it as our own. I think we do this because we believe that there is only one source of truth in the world and that is God. We do not belittle the Gospel of Jesus Christ by recognizing beauty in other groups, in fact, we as a church have already admitted and recognize that other churches, denominations, and faiths have much truth to teach us. We should not feel insecure about recognizing that which is lovely and inspiring in other traditions. Let us be forthright and strong in our acknowledgement of truths and uplifting things found elsewhere without possessing any sense that it belittles our own traditions. In doing so, we become stronger for it.

[Tacenda]

Beautiful post above, Stormrider, thank you!

[Storm Rider]

And I hope that the people observing lent will continue to find meaning in lent throughout the year and not forget the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross.

I think you are confusing the ability to take a special time of year, like Christmas, to celebrate the birth of Christ. Choosing to celebrate Christmas does not indicate that we are not acknowledging the birth of Christ the rest of the year. Lent occurs once a year, but that does not indicate that faithful Catholics are not focusing on repentance or living a holy life the rest of the year. This is an area that we can learn from; study it, take what is good from it and use it. If you do not find truth or beauty in it, move on. We each have learned many times the refrain, if you cannot say something nice, don't say anything at all. I personally do not see or find one thing that is not wholesome and uplifting in the practice of the Season of Lent. How can a season of penance, reflection, and fasting done to celebrate, commemorate, and remember Christ's resurrection be anything but good?

[Bart Burk]

Is Fast Sunday found in LDS scripture?

[why me]

I think you are confusing the ability to take a special time of year, like Christmas, to celebrate the birth of Christ. Choosing to celebrate Christmas does not indicate that we are not acknowledging the birth of Christ the rest of the year. Lent occurs once a year, but that does not indicate that faithful Catholics are not focusing on repentance or living a holy life the rest of the year. This is an area that we can learn from; study it, take what is good from it and use it. If you do not find truth or beauty in it, move on. We each have learned many times the refrain, if you cannot say something nice, don't say anything at all. I personally do not see or find one thing that is not wholesome and uplifting in the practice of the Season of Lent. How can a season of penance, reflection, and fasting done to celebrate, commemorate, and remember Christ's resurrection be anything but good?

I think that Lent is beautiful. I just want people to attempt to live Lent throughout the year. And I would hope that many catholics will do this. I think that it would be wonderful to have more catholics attempt to live Lent by agreeing to give something up that may be destructive and find their own holiness. I have many catholic relatives who don't go to church who could learn something from Lent. And I have other relatives who do go to church but don't practice Lent. In both cases, both would benefit from it. But not just for 40 days, but all year long.

[Bart Burk]

I think that Lent is beautiful. I just want people to attempt to live Lent throughout the year. And I would hope that many catholics will do this. I think that it would be wonderful to have more catholics attempt to live Lent by agreeing to give something up that may be destructive and find their own holiness. I have many catholic relatives who don't go to church who could learn something from Lent. And I have other relatives who do go to church but don't practice Lent. In both cases, both would benefit from it. But not just for 40 days, but all year long.

If Catholics practiced it all year long it would not have the same meaning. If LDS fasted every Sunday, would Fast Sunday be as meaningful? Of course Fast Sunday does not preclude LDS from fasting any other days, and Catholics aren't limited to fasting during Lent. During Lent I don't give up something that is destructive anyway. There are all kinds of things that are not destructive that I enjoy that I can give up for Lent.

[saemo]

And I hope that the people observing lent will continue to find meaning in lent throughout the year and not forget the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross.

No doubt, we don't, as it is made present everyday at Mass.

[Bart Burk]

No doubt, we don't, as it is made present everyday at Mass.

There is a crucifix at the front of the church--how could we forget the sacrifice of Christ?

[why me]

If Catholics practiced it all year long it would not have the same meaning. If LDS fasted every Sunday, would Fast Sunday be as meaningful? Of course Fast Sunday does not preclude LDS from fasting any other days, and Catholics aren't limited to fasting during Lent. During Lent I don't give up something that is destructive anyway. There are all kinds of things that are not destructive that I enjoy that I can give up for Lent.

I can understand that. However, I am a little disappointed at the moment. What happened behind the scenes with the pope was a tragedy if the newspapers are correct. You can read it here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/pope-benedict-xvis-leaked-documents-show-fractured-vatican-full-of-rivalries/2013/02/16/23ce0280-76c2-11e2-8f84-3e4b513b1a13_story.html?tid=pm_pop

My opinion is rather simple. The people behind the scenes in the Vatican need to do some soul searching if the newspaper report is correct. What they need to do is to deeply reflect on their own behavior with the pope and the destruction that they caused. And I think that this would be wonderful for them to reflect upon during Lent. But I am sure that they are not. For me, Lent is about sin and a reflection on the harm that we may have caused not just to ourselves but to other human beings. And we begin the process of change. This will be the greatest gift that we can give to the crucifix.

But if the washington post is correct...it is a big disappointment for me.

Then, of course, we have the terrible things that are being said about mormons and the mormon church on the catholic board during Lent. How can that be reconciled?

[why me]

There is a crucifix at the front of the church--how could we forget the sacrifice of Christ?

When we are used to seeing something often we can forget its meaning or importance. This can also happen to Mormons. The crucifix can be seen inside the vatican and yet, if the washington post story is true, it seems to have been ignored. And mormons can take for granted their own covenants especially when they deal with people for business etc. So, reflection can be a daily process when it comes to how we all did life that day.

[Bart Burk]

I can understand that. However, I am a little disappointed at the moment. What happened behind the scenes with the pope was a tragedy if the newspapers are correct. You can read it here:

http://www.washingto...html?tid=pm_pop

My opinion is rather simple. The people behind the scenes in the Vatican need to do some soul searching if the newspaper report is correct. What they need to do is to deeply reflect on their own behavior with the pope and the destruction that they caused. And I think that this would be wonderful for them to reflect upon during Lent. But I am sure that they are not. For me, Lent is about sin and a reflection on the harm that we may have caused not just to ourselves but to other human beings. And we begin the process of change. This will be the greatest gift that we can give to the crucifix.

But if the washington post is correct...it is a big disappointment for me.

Then, of course, we have the terrible things that are being said about mormons and the mormon church on the catholic board during Lent. How can that be reconciled?

Nobody thinks it is important enough to report on what goes on in the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City, but I have heard enough stories about the COB to realize that whenever you get enough flawed people together you will have conflict. The practice of Lent brings us closer together as a community so that is a benefit in itself. The gossip spread by the Washington Post is like eating junk food -- it may taste good, but it has little nutritional (or spiritual) value.

[savedbygrace]

Lent is for us a special time of love, of God towards us and from ourselves towards God. A time of renewal, fasting,giving looking forward to celebrate anew the sacrifce of our Lord, a new springtime if you like in our lives that carries us though the year. It is also an extension of goodwill towards all men in acts of charity to others. Our churches are unadorned at this time, solemnly awaiting the joy of Easter. The baptismal celebrations are anticipated with the most beautiful Rite of Election when those being received's names are recorded in the Book of the Elect. There is the beautiful Chrism Mass, when the oils of anointing are blessed and priests reaffirm thsir vows. The stations of the Cross devotion is practised with more fervently, for want of a better word. Then all the Masses of Holy week, all of this culminating in the Easter Vigil, when from one flame the Easter candle is lit, and all the congregation light candles from it, all this takes place outside the church, and the the light is carried into the dark church, the light of Christ our redeemer, and those candidates are solemnly and joyously received and our own baptismal promises renewed. The Church is lit and readorned, it is wonderful, uplifting, and strengthening. I can't think of anything else to say except that I hope your Lenten experience is equally renewing and joyful