What I Get Out of Lent (vs. What I Give Up)

It has taken me years to fully buy into the idea that Ash Wednesday (and Lent in general for that matter) is good.  I have hated fasting, and for the longest time, I never really understood it.  Until about seven years ago.  And I'll admit that from time-to-time, I slip back into my old habits, believing that fasting is a chore.  As long as I snap myself out of it and turn my attitude around, I'm doing ok. Since that is what people mainly think of when they think of Lent, that became my only focus...what I'm giving up.  I never really focused on what I was gaining during the season of Lent.  When I shifted my attention to that, everything changed!

Fasting

Fasting is not just some thing that we Catholics invented.  In fact, if you look at any number of the fad diets that are going on these days, many of them promote the idea of fasting.  So why, when the Church tells us to fast for one day, do we freak out?

Well, simple.  People don't like being told what to do.  People don't like to suffer.  And most importantly, people don't like being told to suffer.  It's a vicious cycle.

But fasting is important. We need to purge ourselves of the toxins in our lives.  I get all judgmental and on my high horse (no, I'm not bragging about that, but it's the truth) when I hear people talk about giving up soda or chocolate for Lent.  It makes me crazy.  It's not that those things are wrong or bad to give up, I just wonder about how those people are experiencing spiritual development because of their sacrifice. Is this for the sake of spiritual development, or to lose a few pounds?  Let me tell you, and this I know for certain:  if you are completing your lenten sacrifice in order to lose weight, you're doing it wrong!

That's right.  I said it.  If you are contributing to your own, personal, vanity by making your Lenten Sacrifice about food, than it's not a Lenten Sacrifice.  In fact, it's the exact opposite of that.  It's actually contributing to your sinfulness by focusing your attention on yourself.  Vanity is sinful.

Ok, so don't go out and say that you are giving up vanity for Lent, and therefore, you are going to eat a ton of food all through Lent and gain a lot of weight, either.  Remember, gluttony is a sin, too.

But giving up vanity is a good thing for Lent.  For girls that might mean giving up their mascara, or all makeup in general.  For guys it might mean...well...I'm clueless about guys.  I don't know what they could give up, but I know that there are things that they could give up, in order to give up vanity for lent.

The big question to ask yourself is:  "where is my sinfulness?"  To do that in prayer, asking God to give you the answer is best.  And trust me, He will give you the answer.  If you struggle with vanity, give up something that you do because of vanity.  If you struggle with purity, focus your attention on fixing that sin.  Maybe you could give up using your computer in private, so you don't face the temptation to look at bad things.  There are a number of ways you could go.  Do you struggle with pride?  With greed?  With anger?  With jealousy?  Look closely at your sinfulness, and chose your sacrifice that way.  It's the best way to go.

Prayer

Ok, so we've covered fasting, which is the most talked about aspect of Lent, but what about prayer and almsgiving?  These are both important, too.

Prayer, of course, is something that is vital to our lives.  I think that people don't give enough time to prayer because they don't always see the fruits of their prayers.  But if we could really see how effective our prayers are, we would never stop praying.  There is nothing more important than prayer.  Focus on prayer this Lent.  Really find a way to add it to your routine:  a rosary in the morning to start your day, 15 minutes of silent prayer during lunch, a Divine Mercy Chaplet in the afternoon, and 15 more minutes of silent prayer at the end of the day.  Focus on prayers of praise.  Love God with all your heart, and tell Him about His good works!  Spend time loving God!

Alms Giving

I have heard of a lot of really great things that people have done for Alms Giving during Lent.  From writing letters daily to people in their lives in order to help them to see how loved they are, to giving money to the needy (especially those who give up spending money during Lent), to various service projects.  You know, we fast in order to get rid of something in our lives that causes us to sin, but we also add something that causes us to love.

What I GET OUT OF Lent (vs. what I give up)

There is one thing that I have discovered that I truly get out of Lent.  One thing that is important, good, amazing and important.  That main thing is freedom.  Yes, I get healing, I get endurance, I get all kinds of good things.  But my favorite is freedom.  With freedom, I

Special Edition: Lent

Lent is rapidly approaching, and I'm excited for it. I like the season if Lent because it challenges me to get rid if the gunk in my life that keeps me from God. It cleanses and purifies my soul, which is always in great need of being cleansed and purified. As I pray about what I should do this Lent, the questions that I reflect on are "What is keeping me from God right now?" "What are my biggest and most common sins?" and "How can I use my fasting, prayer and alms giving to purify my soul?"
All three components (fasting, alms giving and prayer) are necessary for a holy Lent.

Fasting

Otherwise called "what you give up." I am annoying to people because, when they tell me what they are giving up, I ask "and how will that bring you closer to God?" And it's surprising how often they don't have an answer. My point in asking that question is not to accuse, although it is often interpreted that way. I just want to make sure that their fasting isn't without purpose. It's far too easy to just give up soda or chocolate or Starbucks or meat without having a purpose behind it. Those things can have a purpose, it just depends on the way the sacrifice is being handled, and the motivation behind it. Remember, vanity is always sinful. And the purpose of Lent is to rid your life of sinfulness, not to add to it. If your Lenten experience causes you to think, "I will lose weight with this, too," it's wrong. Don't try to kill two birds with one stone.  Because you can't get closer to God (by fasting) and further from God (by sinning by increasing your vanity) simultaneously.  I will say it again: Lent should not add to your vanity.
When choosing something for your Lenten fast, do it with prayer. Ask God to show you what you should give up. Let's take a look at the Seven Deadly sins, and how you can fight those you struggle with the most to help your relationship with God.
Vanity:  If you struggle with vanity (which, let's face it, most Americans do), He might tell you to give up mascara or to only wear the same four outfits during the entire season (you are encouraged to wash them, though)
Sloth:  If you struggle with sloth (spiritual laziness), He might ask you to give up sleeping in so that you can have an extra half hour of prayer time in the morning. 
Lust:  If you struggle with lust, He might ask you to give up the Internet which can lead you to lustful thoughts. 
Pride/Envy:  If you struggle with pride or envy, He might ask you to give up the words "I" and "me." 
Gluttony/Greed:  If you struggle with gluttony, if you struggle with greed, give up the things that you love (like your electronic devices). 
Wrath:  If you struggle with anger, He might ask you to give up blame by taking the blame for things (like St Therese of Lisieux was known to do). See how those things oppose the seven deadly sins?

Prayer

Prayer should not add to your vanity either. I saw a suggestion in the Life Teen website that said you should try doing a sit-up for every word of the Hail Mary. Now, most of the stuff in the Life Teen website is really good, but I just don't see anything positive about this suggestion. It takes away the reverence from the prayer, and it adds to the person's vanity. The Hail Mary is a prayer that should be said with complete concentration and total reverence. Turning it into a workout is, as far as I'm concerned, like desecrating it. The Hail Mary should promote our humility, not our pride. Why can't you just say a Hail Mary, and really focus on it, and then do 42 sit ups later? Why combine those things? Commit to saying a Hail Mary every day!
We need to start making prayer more intentional. No more multitasking during prayer. Use Lent as a time to practice praying in silence, focusing solely on God. Maybe you do so for only five minutes every day during Lent. Five minutes of concentrated prayer is more effective that 20 minutes of prayer while working out or driving (which, lets face it, when you're driving, you should be concentrated on that task). It's hard enough to hear God's voice when you're focused, let alone when you're not.

Alms Giving

Now some people think that they don't need to fast because they add something to their routine. But we are called to fast AND give alms AND pray, which means that we are called to rid ourselves of something harmful and add something good. It's not one or the other!  One of the suggestions that I liked on the Life Teen website was to leave a note with a positive message everywhere you go during Lent.  That's tricky.  One friend I have writes a letter to someone new every day, to tell them that she loves them.  But, again, to get the most benefit out of this, you should ask yourself the same question, "What do I need to do in order to get closer to God?"  If you need to be more thankful, than maybe you should spend time every day thanking God for the things in your life (the good things, and the bad things).  Focus it on God, though.  It's good to be thankful for the people in your life.  And you should thank them for the things they do for you.  But, you should also remember to thank God for giving them to you.  Lent should bring you close to God.  That's the goal.

Irrelevant and Irreverent

Irrelevant and irreverent. This is what Lent has become. It saddens me that people view Lent as a physical fitness program rather than a spiritually purifying liturgical season.  It's ok to be uncomfortable.  When you think about giving up mascara for Lent, and that makes your stomach drop, that's a good indication that you have a problem with vanity, and that maybe you should focus on that.  Does eating chocolate actively hurt your relationship with God?  Really?  If it does, than by all means, give it up!  But I challenge you to make your Lenten experience that easy (I know, right?!  Like giving up chocolate is easy!).  The more difficult the thing is, the better the results.  I promise.

But our bodies are temples.  Shouldn't we be building them up?

I don't want there to be any confusion about what I am saying, so I am going to spend some time here, clarifying a few things.  I can hear the excuses for doing something to better your body already:  but my body is a temple.  Well, yes, that's true.  Your body is a temple, but showing it off is sinful.  To those who want to do sit ups while praying the Hail Mary, remember, you can do as many sit ups as you like.  But as soon as you choose an outfit that shows those good abs off, you're crossing the line into vanity.  As soon as you brag about how much weight you've lost during Lent, or get all excited about the compliments you receive, or seek compliments, you're crossing the line into vanity.  As soon as you write out this Facebook status:  "I have to go shopping because my pants size is smaller," it's vanity.  Ask God to tell you what to give up, because otherwise, it's too easy to make it easy.  He will show you where you struggle, and what you need to do to be better.  Ask Him for help, and no matter how difficult the challenge that He gives you is, trust that obedience to Him will make it worth it.