What are people doing for Lent?

[seeking_perfection]

Simple question really. What activities are people taking on for Lent this year? I know that this time around, I really should take this period seriously and I have a few ideas but I'm not sure what people usually do. What are the most important aspects of Lent to you?

 

[Drax]

Great thread! I've been giving this some thought lately. I definitely will commit to Morning & Evening Prayer for Lent. Deciding what to give up is always challenging; I might just try to abstain from snacks between meals or something. I'm interested in learning about fasting, so I might try to read up on that before Ash Wednesday.

But primarily, I want to make the Daily Office a routine; and I'm praying for opportunities to talk about Lent (its significance and its meaning) to some of my unbelieving friends.

 

[Flat Eric]

I'm new to Anglicanism and have never really observed lent before. I'm thinking that I should spend less time on the internet. I would also like to do some reading, maybe something about the Church Fathers.

 

[A Penitent Man]

I suppose the most important thing to me during Lent is giving up something significant enough to focus my mind on the sacrifice given on Good Friday.
The challenge is finding something to give up what is a luxury in your life that you can give up without the chance of failing to live without until Easter. If you pick something you cannot go without and fail you will be miserable and despondent. Not a good thing to carry into Eastertide.

God is Love. I believe the objective is to remember and acknowledge,not suffer.

Abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and every Friday through Lent and fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. What you give up is your's to choose.

God Bless

 

[higgs2]

Every day of Lent I am going to try to focus on the joy of the resurrection, and to express that joy by doing something kind, fun, loving etc. with one or more of my children. I am also going to do two full loads of laundry every day from putting in the washer to folding and putting away. That will be my way of repenting for my sins and experiencing God's cleansing Grace.

 

[higgs2]

There's a guy in my church that gives up Tangeray for lent. Not gin, just Tangeray. I think it is in order to feel the despair of Good Friday on a daily basis.

 

[Drax]

... I am also going to do two full loads of laundry every day from putting in the washer to folding and putting away. That will be my way of repenting for my sins and experiencing God's cleansing Grace.

There's a guy in my church that gives up Tangeray for lent. Not gin, just Tangeray. I think it is in order to feel the despair of Good Friday on a daily basis.

 

[higgs2]

I am totally serious about that guy, too. He does it every year. And then complains that the Lenten program is not spiritual enough.

 

[Markus6]

My top tips:
Don't give up something you shouldn't be doing anyway
Don't take up something you actually think you should do all the time (I guess if you need to start Ash Wednesday is as good as any - just make sure you don't stop at Easter)
To disagree (respectfully) with the penitent man - it should be difficult, like any fast (Jesus certainly found his difficult). You're making the statement that God is more important to you than whatever it is, so it should be something important to you.

 

[Drax]

I am totally serious about that guy, too. He does it every year. And then complains that the Lenten program is not spiritual enough.

That is hilarious!!!

 

[higgs2]

Our church encourages taking things on rather than giving them up. We collect money to send African girls to school, visit nursing home patients, encourage parishioners that if they must give up something, take the money saved from the giving up and put it to a good cause. We also encourage being intentionally grateful to God for all that we have.

Or give up a favorite brand of alcohol. It's all good. rofl

 

[higgs2]

That is hilarious!!!

Yeah, I know, right? It is really p. good for a yearly giggle.

 

[Drax]

Every year, my best friend's wife gives up Mexican food for Lent and only enjoys it on Lenten Sundays (since that is permitted).

She only eats Mexican food for lunch on Sundays anyway. No real loss there.

 

[A Penitent Man]

My top tips:
Don't give up something you shouldn't be doing anyway
Don't take up something you actually think you should do all the time (I guess if you need to start Ash Wednesday is as good as any - just make sure you don't stop at Easter)
To disagree (respectfully) with the penitent man - it should be difficult, like any fast (Jesus certainly found his difficult). You're making the statement that God is more important to you than whatever it is, so it should be something important to you.

Forgive me.Perhaps I did not explain my train of thought.
I meant that you would suffer because you failed to keep to your Lenten commitment and feel unworthy in that way. Of course you need to give up something that matters. It is what you decide to give up, as you say 'Don't give up something you shouldn't be doing anyway'. Could not agree with you more cousin!

 

[HarryCovert]

I think the idea is to give up sins and renew your baptismal promises. If you don't sin much I guess sacrificing something like Mexican food is alright, but does it really bring you closer to God? Unless, of course, you eat beans and tortillas to excess. A chimichangaholic maybe?

 

[cajunhillbilly]

I plan to take mose seriously my daily devotions. I will each day either do the prayers of the Stations of the Cross or perhaps a devotion to the Wounds of Jesus. I find those practices help me to focus on the Sacrifice of the Lord.

 

[Drax]

I think the idea is to give up sins and renew your baptismal promises. If you don't sin much I guess sacrificing something like Mexican food is alright, but does it really bring you closer to God? Unless, of course, you eat beans and tortillas to excess. A chimichangaholic maybe?

hahaha it's really lame, actually...she only eats Mexican food on Sundays, and so for Lent, she pledges to only eat Mexican food on Sundays. Sigh.

I definitely want to grow closer to the Lord during Lent, rather than focusing on the chimichangas haha

 

[file13]

For lent this year, I'll be giving up fasting for lent.

After years of a lenten fasting which basically boils down to being vegan for almost 60 days, I'm going to focus on the grace of God in Christ Jesus' sacrifice for our sins while relishing in the joy of not having required institutionalized fasting.

 

[dbakerman76]

I'm sort of stumped on what I can give up for lent.Nothing that I can think of is that meaningful a sacrifice. I would categorize them as minor inconveniences at best.

 

[Drax]

I'm sort of stumped on what I can give up for lent.Nothing that I can think of is that meaningful a sacrifice. I would categorize them as minor inconveniences at best.

I am right there with ya.