Lent

Hey everyone! I decided to give-up Pretzels, Peanut Butter, and Gum for Lent! I eat these things on a regular basis, so this will be hard. Secretly I'm happy to give them up, because I over eat all of them! Here's to Lent, a struggle, with benefits!

i'm giving up diet pepsi.

Original Post by clairelaine:

I haven't come up with a good one for this year, and here it is lent.  Any ideas? 

This isn't exactly long the same lines of your previous changes, but a good friend of mine always gives up elevators for lent.  This year will be a tough one for her as she has class on floor 14 twice a week :)

Original Post by entersandlady:

I am Roman Catholic, although I dont practise. 

Lent, in most Christian denominations, is the forty-day liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter.  The forty days represent the time Jesus spent in the desert, where, according to the Bible, he endured temptation by Satan.  

Lent lasts from Ash Wednesday until Holy Saturday. The six Sundays in Lent are not counted among the forty days because each Sunday represents a "mini-Easter", a celebration of Jesus' victory over sin and death.

There are traditionally forty days in Lent which are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of penance.

Theology lesson finished!!

You do still see how ridiculous that is, right? Mini-Easters? Was Christ ressurrected six times during his temptation?

I think if you're going to do it, do it right, go into the wilderness and live without food for fourty days. At least then when you are hallucinating from lack of food, you can "see God".

Is it normally OK to ridicule everyone's religeous beliefs on this forum? Or just Catholics?

I read the original post and I didnt see anything about "post here about how stupid the Catholics are" , i didnt even see an invite for a civil debate. 

Hey, I had a question. This Lent thing is something I don't understand. I guess I'll just take my desire to learn about your religion elsewhere. Sorry if I've hurt anyone's feelings.

FYI Lent is a Christian period of fasting - popular misconception that it is only Catholics who observe it!!

Anyhoo... I have decided to give up salt!!! Will be very difficult cos Im addicted and put it on everything even tho I know its bad! xx

Original Post by entersandlady:

Lent lasts from Ash Wednesday until Holy Saturday. The six Sundays in Lent are not counted among the forty days because each Sunday represents a "mini-Easter", a celebration of Jesus' victory over sin and death.

 

Well, I knew about the 40 days and the significance, but until your post, I didn't know the Sundays were considered "mini-Easters."  I wish I knew that when I was little - I would have tried to convince my parents that I needed to get "mini easter baskets" every Sunday!  (But then, I wasn't raised Catholic, either....)

For Lent I am going to give up fast food.. I tent to eat it once or twice on weekends. I am also going to start going to church every week again. I haven't done that since I was in grade school. I'm going to start tomorrow for Ash Wednesday.

Also is anyone letting themselves cheat a little for Fat Tuesday? I'm a little tempted :)

We lit candles every Sunday of Lent when I was a kid. I don't give anything up for Lent nowadays, but am liking Claire's idea of doing something possitive during this time.

Heather: the 'ridiculous' reference may have been a little uncalled for, as it is clearly part of the (practicing) Christian belief system. Tolerance is tolerance whoever deserves it.:)

It's really no different than fasting for Ramadan or Rosh Hashana...The idea is to sacrifice for one's belief.

Obviously, we, as imperfect humans, are not able to emmulate Jesus' sacrifice, nor his trials in the desert...we're lucky to be able to emmulate the easy stuff like loving one another, and living harmlessly.

Again, I'm sorry if I've offended anyone.

Obviously there are a lot of things about Christianity I don't understand.

Nah, honey, no offense taken. Question away....I will certainly tell all I know...well, except the secret Catholic handshake...we're really not allowed to divulge that....

Oh, is that the sign of the Peace? The first time I went to a Catholic Mass, I turned to the person next to me and gave them the peace sign. V..

The last time I went to Mass, we shook hands and said "peace be with you"...perhaps now they just show the peace sign to avoid spreading flu germs...

I appoligize if I left anyone feeling left out in my previous post. as I Catholic I only know how Catholics celebrate lent and I do not pretend to know the lenten practices of all the other Christian denominations, though I am aware that some other denominations do observe it.

I just saw a person who was being intollerant and ignorant and attacking other people's religeous beliefs and felt that this person needed to be called on it.

Among other spiritual resolutions, I am resolving to work out 5 days a week as well as donate time at a local animal shelter and giving up all forms of "chips"

Oh, no, that's what everyone else was doing... I was the odd man out.

I was brought up Protestant, so I wasn't well versed in other traditions. Well, that is until my senior year when my friend Dan and I went church hopping and would visit different churches and observe. My favorite was the Apostolic church where the men sat on one side and the women sat on the other. We had to split up for the week.

I will be giving up alcohol, candy/desserts/sweets, carbonated beverages, and red meat (no concerns over iron and B vitamins).

I'm thinking about giving up caffeine. I'm down to one can of Diet Coke every morning. But I'm afraid of the headaches I've gotten in the past when I've given up caffeine. I guess I have until midnight to decide.

One year I gave up the drive-thru. I was still allowed to eat fast-food, but only if I went in. Interestingly, I could never be bothered. Big money saver too, as it turned out. I've already pretty much given up on fast-food for nutritional purposes anyway.

Maybe I should give up frozen entrees. That would really be a sacrifice, since that's my week-day lunch. But it's probably impractical. I have pretty much given up processed foods other times of the day. I cook "real" food for dinner much more often since I joined here.

Hmmm. I think I've already pretty much given up everything except maybe caffeine. 

I like the giving up the Drive through idea! At least then when you get your order inside you gave a better chance of actually getting  what you ordered.

There's a dude who rides around on a bike every year during Lent, dragging a little trailor behind him with all of his belongings and a huge sign that says, "I GAVE UP MY HOUSE FOR LENT!"

So, you know, if anyone needs an extra special challenge..