The neat thing about making your own stock is that it's different every time. Last night I took the vegetable scraps saved up in the freezer and made broth so I could have lentil soup to break my fast tomorrow night. K and I have been making soups like whoa lately; I made an acorn squash and apple soup which was not nearly as nice as it sounds and K made a cabbage soup the other day and put the outer leaves in the stock pot, along with some apple peels. The result of this stock was a striking shade of magenta, but the soup smells pretty good.
Okay, so, Lent. I recognize that I probably shouldn't be posting about this because it violates my own standard that discussion of religion in a public forum is in poor taste, plus Jesus said to do your religion in private and wash your face when you're fasting and so on. But, in violation of these guidelines, I will say that this year I am planning to do Lent right. I have reasons for this, but I won't go into them here. I am going to give up not going to church for Lent, and also fast on Ash Wednesday and not eat meat on Friday (which I almost never do anyway because Saturday is market day and on Friday we never have anything in the house).
The question is, when is it okay to give something up for Lent? It kind of seems as if you shouldn't give up something if it's something you ought to give up anyway, on general principles. For example, giving up smoking for Lent. I think of this as the Piety Diet: you should not be thinking of Lent as a time to lose weight or kick a bad habit. On the other hand, it seems stupid to give up something like Facebook or Pop Tarts - things that are frivolous, but don't have anything to do with your relationship with God. If, every time I want to go on Facebook, I think about Christ and refrain - well, that just seems ... lame. So what does that leave? Is it okay to give something up if abstinence will be good for you in some not-necessarily-spiritual sense? Everyone who reads this, apart from LCA, knows more about this stuff than I do - can somebody help me out?
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i'm copying you. i've been trying of think of something to give up, and i was thinking parties, but i'd miss too much. the date party is during lent. i'm giving up ice cream too, but mostly i'm giving up skipping mass.
I'm actually planning to give up drinking. I don't want to give up socializing, but I'll just go out and drink club soda with lime and no one will need to know!
"Fasting as explained by the U.S. bishops means partaking of only one full meal. Some food (not equaling another full meal) is permitted at breakfast and around midday or in the evening—depending on when a person chooses to eat the main or full meal."
what a cop out! i'm hungry though, so idk...
You are already pretty monastic, but consider that it is not necessary to give anything up, per se. You could instead do something affirmative-- give blood, perform a good deed of some sort every day, something like that.
Your mother's father gives up all bread and cake. Sweets are popular, but you probably don't eat a lot of sweets.
you always told me that I should give up a vice or something that was between you and loving God. Even though I don't technically have to give anything up, I'm dropping something. Maybe gossip (a habit I have indulged far too frequently of late).
I don't recommend giving blood every day.
My understanding of the modern RC thinking is that an affirmative action is the preferred Lentan preparation, but giving things up persists. Here at my office, the wealth of lollies normally available has simply disappeared, and we're theoretically on the cutting edge of Catholic identity. Personally, I miss the chocolate.
Giving up smoking, drinking, and other "vices" are, however, a kind of positive act, as they can be considered to be sinful, destructive pleasures preventing grace, rather than simply bad habits.
I find Lent an interesting time because I try to give up something I like with the idea in mind that when a chance to do or have the thing I've given up arrives, I try to turn instead to thoughts to our God. I try to draws a little closer to God through praise and thankgiving and petition for people for whom I've promised to pray. I do try also to be a little less grudging about the stuff I try to do for others such as my literacy student and all that.
Since Lent is really about preparation, you should think about what it is you are preparing for and then, how best to achieve that goal. Here is an interesting tool:
http://www.beliefnet.com/lent/calendar.html
And here is another perspective:
http://www.beliefnet.com/lent/calendar.html
Uh, those are the same thing, Mum.
Sorry, here is the right link:
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/119/story_11988_1.html
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