HAPPY ASH WEDNESDAY!! oh wait.. tis not the season to be happy... anywho, we're in Lent now.
Here is my art project from last year from the Christianity and the Visual Arts:
i'll have to reconstruct that sometime again at LTS.
There are some traditional practices associated with Lent. The three traditional practices to be taken up during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbor). Some people give up a vice of theirs thus adding something that will bring them closer to God. I haven't given up anything since I gave up Lent in 2001 or so (around the time when i 'officially' broke from Catholicism). but now i feel i should reclaim it.
so i'm going to give up COMPLAINING. there is much to be thankful for! here at seminary we lose sight of this because we're overwhelmed, overworked, under-slept, or whatever the case maybe. wish me luck and call me out if something reeks of complaining on here!
7 comments:
Coming from that fundy protestant side, Lent didn't mean anything to me. But I am part of a church that now celebrates it as part of the traditional church calendar. I will be giving up sugary desserts and Mountain Dew. It is partly a selfish gain also as it helps me in my triathlon training to get down to racing weight. Maybe that completely defeats the true purpose of Lent.
I like the idea of giving up complaining. As an religious outsider who had never practiced Lent, I've struggled to understand the value of giving something up. But this has the potential to have a positive effect on both self and others. Maybe I'll give it a try.
But in the interest of self-fulfilling prophecy--what are you supposed to do when you slip up? Are the penances? Self flagellation? Extra days? Public hangings?
hey mac!
when you slip up, in the old days it brought on massive amounts of guilt. i'm not into that. grace abounds!
so when one slips up, and i'm thinking i'm gonna do that a lot, i'll take note of how many times. i think this approach leads to a greater self-awareness. like how much of a complainer am i? what do i often complain about? what do i do with this complaining energy? what affect does it have on others?
things like that... in theory... something like that... RAWK?
Doug,
giving up Mt Dew?! you're a braver man than i!
Ok ok, Im gonna give up beer for lent.........On second thought, Im a sinner so I dont think thats possible oops. ;)
John... in my book it's a sin to give up beer unless your pregnant. you're not expecting are you? ;-)
Mac,
when you slip up you laff and go on.You try. But we are human after all.
sher
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