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This whole discussion about Lent reminds me of how spirituality may be a product of culture.

I grew up in an intensely Catholic family. My dad was an immigrant from County Limerick, Ireland and my mom of Mexican heritage, her family having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since long before the Anglos conquered that territory. Their shared Catholicism was one of the commonalities that brought them together. Hence, I was raised according to the rhythm of the Catholic liturgical year--the intense fasting of Lent is followed by the great indulgent celebrating of the Easter Season is followed by the steadiness of Ordinary Time is followed by the end of the Church year, which immediately welcomes the simple anticipation of Advent and so on.

While my daily behaviors might be the same as my Baptist sisters and brothers, my personal spirituality is inexorably woven to the rhythms of the liturgical year. I might disagree with the Church on a raft of specific theological issues, but that calendar was bred into my bones.

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PEACE,PAZ,SALAAM,SHOLOM,FREIDEN,МИР,평화, 和平:

"I just strive to keep the Divine in all I do: buying fair trade coffee, tea, and chocolate; buying rBGH-free dairy products; buying local meat, dairy, and produce whenever possible; choosing products made with recycled materials, minimal packaging, environmentally friendly ingredients; bringing my own shopping bags to the market; planning errands for minimal gas consumption; FreeCycling (an online group where people offer to give away items they no longer want/need instead of throwing them away, and people in need of items can ask for them); shopping at thrift stores - all of these things for me are acts of worship with no sacrifice necessary."

YES! I love it!

Cheers Lepi,
Craig

While I could never embrace Catholicism, nor could I ever return to Protestant Christianity, I do admire the fact that Ms. Tenety seems to have a much better grasp of some of the reasons for the rituals of her faith than I ever did of mine when I was young.

I grew up Baptist, and Baptists don't do Lent. As a Pagan, I don't do Lent either. The only time I ever deliberately gave up something I loved doing for an extended period of time was when I quit coffee (several pots a day) and cigarettes (almost three packs of unfiltered Camels a day) - both cold turkey - when I was pregnant with my daughter, and while she was nursing. That had nothing to do with wanting to be closer to any god, though. It just made sense that, since I had decided to carry the pregnancy, it would be silly to consume things that could cause fetal development problems.

Self-deprivation has never made me feel closer to the Divine. Going without food doesn't make me feel closer to any deity - it just makes me wobbly-kneed and light-headed. Going without coffee doesn't make me feel closer to the Divine - it just makes me cranky and gives me a splitting headache. (Yeah, I know - symptoms of withdrawal - I'm a caffeine addict - I'm okay with that addiction).

Instead of deliberately giving up one thing for 40 days out of the year in order to feel closer to the Divine, I continually try to simplify my life. Does that mean I live the life of an ascetic? Not by a long shot. If you came to my home, you would see computers, stereo equipment, tv's, kitchen appliances, flush toilets - all the modern conveniences. You would see more books and music than anything else.
I just strive to keep the Divine in all I do: buying fair trade coffee, tea, and chocolate; buying rBGH-free dairy products; buying local meat, dairy, and produce whenever possible; choosing products made with recycled materials, minimal packaging, environmentally friendly ingredients; bringing my own shopping bags to the market; planning errands for minimal gas consumption; FreeCycling (an online group where people offer to give away items they no longer want/need instead of throwing them away, and people in need of items can ask for them); shopping at thrift stores - all of these things for me are acts of worship with no sacrifice necessary.

"Anglicans introduce new Lent "CARBON FAST":

"Two senior bishops are urging people to cut back on carbon for Lent instead of the conventional chocolate or alcohol..

They hope to encourage people to reduce their carbon footprint for 40 days."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7226488.stm"

That's fantastic! I think it's great that religious groups have made environmental activism/awareness a priority.

Anglicans introduce new Lent "CARBON FAST":

"Two senior bishops are urging people to cut back on carbon for Lent instead of the conventional chocolate or alcohol..

They hope to encourage people to reduce their carbon footprint for 40 days."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7226488.stm

--The moral imperative for us to act is unquestionable and inescapable.--

Lent is a time for extra reflection and extra devotion. These can be assisted by acts of both devotion and denial. We can give up watching that weekly episode of House, and then spend that time reading about the life of a saint. We can deny ourself a half hour of sleep (in the morning) and use that time to attend daily Mass. If giving up caffeine will cause us to be less effective or less pleasant, we can switch to tea made at home, or down-grade from latte to regular coffee. If we save money on the move we can be extra devout and give the money saved to a charity. I taught religious school for years. I tried to instill in my charges that often the added religious activity could prove more fruitful because it might develop into a good, lifetime, habit. But denial had its place too. Learning to say "no" to a good would help us to be stronger when it came time to say "no" to evil. And, importantly, it should not be directly apparent to those we deal with regularly that we might be making a sacrifice.

Lent is a time for extra reflection and extra devotion. These can be assisted by acts of both devotion and denial. We can give up watching that weekly episode of House, and then spend that time reading about the life of a saint. We can deny ourself a half hour of sleep (in the morning) and use that time to attend daily Mass. If giving up caffeine will cause us to be less effective or less pleasant, we can switch to tea made at home, or down-grade from latte to regular coffee. If we save money on the move we can be extra devout and give the money saved to a charity. I taught religious school for years. I tried to instill in my charges that often the added religious activity could prove more fruitful because it might develop into a good, lifetime, habit. But denial had its place too. Learning to say "no" to a good would help us to be stronger when it came time to say "no" to evil. And, importantly, it should not be directly apparent to those we deal with regularly that we might be making a sacrifice.

: )

As a child- we carefully crafted our Lenten Banks out of well-scrubbed milk cartons and stapled on construction paper. Every week we would do without candy or coke, skating or a movie and put the money we saved away. At the end of Lent -we placed our offering at the altar rail.

Of course as little children we placed little significance on this ritual.

"For many of us in the material world where creature comforts are cheap and plentiful, it's surprisingly hard to go without. So even if it seems like a 'kiddie-level' faith practice to give up something that would otherwise be trivial, for many it's at least a start towards sacrificing other things to be a better person according to their beliefs, and hopefully a better person to others."

I definitely agree that it can be inconvenient to give up a creature comfort. I can understand that denying onesself material things is a good step towards a less "cluttered" lifestyle, but wouldn't it be just as easy (and even closer to living God's word) to not only deny yourself something, but also to use the resources you are depriving yourself of (time, money, material goods, whatever) and use them to benefit those who are denied these luxuries by circumstance, not by choice?

I'm not saying self-deprivation isn't a useful step in this process, but it seems ...incomplete...? Denying onesself something for personal gain (spiritual growth) and not using that freed-up resource to help others is almost selfish, and wasteful as well.

I'm not trying to sound harsh...I just don't understand the disconnect between what Lent is obviously supposed to be about and the "watered-down" version it has become...since there's almost no extra effort involved.

I sort of think of it like this - if I normally buy coffee every day ($3.00/day) and I give up coffee for Lent (40 days?), then I'll have saved $120.00. Now, it's not really much of a sacrifice if that $120.00 stays in my bank account. It IS a sacrifice if I get nothing material in return for depriving myself of coffee...that is, I don't trade the coffee for money, but instead trade the coffee for knowing that someone else will benefit from my coffee sacrifice - a donation to the charity of my choice to the tune of $120.00.

I guess I just see the "sacrificial" aspect of Lent as really only being meaningful to the individual worshipper...which I guess is the point?

Craig

As a secularist whose Christian experience was Lutheran, I had not known much about Lent and I appreciate Tenety offering a description. I like to think I have a general appreciation for the principle of self-discipline involved with any abstinence, whether the framework is secular or religious.

However, I do not understand how the abstinence equates to "spending 40 days with the Lord." Does that mean that abstinence is simply a matter of obedience? Would any Catholics here explain what this means? I occasionally hear devout Catholics criticize their colleagues who fail to observe Lent or who suffer lapses in Lenten abstinence as though these were immoral or sinful.

"It's all about finding something that will get one to wake up to the presence of the Divine in the world--and that must be a very individual choice."

I agree. Whether we are denying a material pleasure, adding a spiritual devotion, or lending a needed hand and heart to the LORD's work in our community: we all are sacrificing our time and refocusing our attention away from this cluttered world and back to Him.

Time is a wonderful yet limited gift. Use it wisely.

While I understand (and in some ways kinda agree with) those who are saying that making a relatively small sacrifice for Lent, and certainly only focusing on "I gotta give up something for the next month and a half, cuz it's Lent!", are missing the point... I also feel that it's important for every person to not only appreciate sacrifice, but be able to make bigger sacrifices, by making those smaller sacrifices.

For many of us in the material world where creature comforts are cheap and plentiful, it's surprisingly hard to go without. So even if it seems like a 'kiddie-level' faith practice to give up something that would otherwise be trivial, for many it's at least a start towards sacrificing other things to be a better person according to their beliefs, and hopefully a better person to others.

Even if we aren't Catholic/Orthodox/Protestant, we can all benefit by being a little selfless (I know I sure could afford to be a little more myself...), and I think for many it's a good start by starting small. But the key is to keep at it, and work up to larger things; not just stop @ Easter! :)

Thanks everyone for the great responses! It's too bad that the "spiritual growth phase" has been lost for so many and only the "deprivation phase" is left.

Anyway, it's been an eye-opener for sure for me. I was raised in a non-religious household, but my parents took me to church (Presbyterian) for 7 or 8 years (when I was young - so I participated in Sunday School, but not the regular services). I wasn't old enough to really appreciate the true meaning of church rituals and ceremonies.

Cheers all,
Craig

I always viewed the idea of the Lenten sacrifice as somewhat trite and childish, at least the way it is practiced by most people. Giving up an indulgence (typically caffiene, candy, television, etc.) always seemed to be a way to include children in an aspect of the traditions of the church.

It always seemed to me that adults should, in turn, be giving up something more mature and valuable. Not money but instead their time, skills, or personal comfort. Volunteer your free time and expertise to help those needy or less fortunate. Don't just give up something; give something to others.

Unfortunately, I think this maturity of faith is lost in many of today's churches. People want to continue on with the simple "childhood faith" that is not personally challenging but makes them feel like they are doing something. Giving up something trivial as a sacrifice makes you feel as though you are participating, but it's not much of a true sacrifice.

I think that for those like Ms. Tenety, college is the perfect time to start a tradition of such an adult sacrifice. Most college students have a great amount of free time to give and Lent typically falls toward the beginning of the academic semester, when there are less scholastic responsibilities.

This is a great discussion for Ash Wednesday morning.

I usually find that the simple physical discipline of "giving something up" works well to focus me spiritually during Lent. In a busy life, the new habit keeps the 40 days leading up to Easter attentive to the season's purpose.

This year, however, I have finally managed to eliminate most caffeine from my life as well as to temper my life-long dessert addiction. Hence, this year I have selected the more difficult discipline of daily spiritual reading and journaling, using the "Little Black Book my Catholic parish distributes. Forcing myself to start the day with this rather than the Washington Post and New York Times online will be a real push!

It's all about finding something that will get one to wake up to the presence of the Divine in the world--and that must be a very individual choice.

PS.

The dialogue between MH in NC and Craig is wonderful. These are the types of conversations that make fellowship and loving and worshipping the Lord especially meaningful.

As noted, of course the ultimate goal is manifesting your love of God through good works, loving your neighbor. I find that by working on my own selflessness and sacrifice I am better able to have the patience and understanding to serve and love others.

Last year, I went without meat for the 35 days prior to Easter. The last week I was down to bread and water. I tried to make it on nothing between Good Friday and Easter morning but fell short.

This year I'm going for the vegetarian diet for all of Lent, but probably wiithout the hardcore finish.

I ask the Lord what He wants me to do through prayer and try to be led by the Spirit.

Thank you Elizabeth for reminding us that Lent begins early. I feel for Danielle; I too used to have an addiction to hazelnut coffee. I actually gave up coffee (fasted) for nearly 4 yours as a sacrifice to the Lord; among other things. Learning not to covet material things is a key and often overlooked aspect of faith.

I don't believe people really have a grasp of the practical spiritual benefits of these types of exercises; although there are some very informed posts here on Lent.

Scripture teaches us to emulate Jesus. Not just His love, compassion and righteousness but also His sacrifice and suffering. By fasting and doing away with material things we begin a process of transformation that helps us not be "conformed to this world."

Equally importantly, I believe that when we are judged, those who will be doing the judging will be Jesus and perhaps the Apostles (see Mathew 19:28). They lived lives of incredible hardship compared to our modern lives. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Without becoming Amish, I believe I'm on fair ground by saying those who show a willingness to go without material things (at least for a season) will be blessed on earth and in heaven.

In addition, because of this type of sacrifice the power of the Holy Spirit within you may be increased, and the number and quality of answered prayers.

Most importantly, these lenten fasts teach discipline, patience, and the ability to cope with not getting our way. This in turn prepares us to love and forgive unconditionally; and not only love your neighbor but love your enemy (see(Romans 5:3-4).

If we can't give up coffee or TV how are we going to love our enemy? How will people be convinced that our faith is true and authentic? How will we spread the word?

When we get to heaven how are we going to justify spending so much of our time, and so many hours, on our own pleasure and so little pleasing God?

Of course MH in NC's comments are right on point. These practices should be part of a life long process of spiritual growth. But, you have to start somewhere with something; then grow into doing away with as many fleshly pursuits and character defects as possible that have nothing to do with knowing God.

I also believe that in order to change one must specifically pray for the Lord to help you have the strength to change.

I'll be reading Brennan Manning this Lent:

"If God is invoked to justify division, competition, contempt, and hatred among Christian sects in the Body of Christ and hostility towards other world religions, then get rid of God so that we may find God. As the 14th century mystic Meister Eckert said: 'I pray that I may be quit of God that I may find God.' Our closed human concepts of Gospel and God can prevent us from experiencing both and stifle our freedom to love one another in a nonjudgmental way."

"I believe that He calls us to let go of the desire to appear good, to give up the appearance of being good, so that we can listen to the WORD within us and move in the mystery of who we are. The preoccupation with projecting the perfect image, with being the model Christian and edifying others with our virtues, leads to self-consciousness and sticky pedestal behavior and bondage to human respect."

—Brennan Manning, The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus

Craig, absolutely - I do find the real purpose of Lent to be overshadowed by the public perception of Lent as when you 'give up something' - like coffee, chocolate, alcohol, etc. It does make it seem simplistic and not very meaningful.
What is lost in that perception is that 'giving up something' is part of the larger purpose of spiritual growth. Hopefully that growth doesn't go away, but remains with you after Lent. Not that you shouldn't attempt to "grow" during the rest of the year, but it's nice to have a time dedicated to focusing on it.

After a hiatus from church for most of my adult life, I started attending church again a few years ago, became involved, sing in the choir etc. Every year I find myself more interested in the concept of Lent, and more welcoming of the reminder to look inward and reflect. I haven't always 'given up' something, but I do feel that even small, otherwise insignificant daily deprivations can be little reminders of the "bigger picture" of Lent, thus reminders for larger reflection and renewal. This nuanced idea of what 'giving up things' can mean is lost in the public perception.

I heard a Catholic priest give an Ash Wednesday homily several years ago, which has always affected me. He reminded the congregation that giving up things wasn't always about "things" - it could, and should, be about behaviors as well - behaviors that distance us from the love of God and our fellow man: impatience, unkind responses, anger, etc. Talk about renewal!

As for the original subject of caffeine, for a serious addict like me, it would definitely be "deprivation" to give it up entirely! :-)

Thanks MH! Many people (not just religious entities, but humans in general) over the years have used self-deprivation as a pathway to spiritual growth or enlightenment.

Sometimes, though, the sacrifices seem somewhat...trivial. Please everyone realize I am not trying to come down on anyone or any particular religion. In reading your description, people who take this seriously do not simply give up something, but make a conscious effort to do good works (or something else that can bring one closer to God).

I'm just not sure I can see the spiritual value of giving up coffee. Healthwise, that's a good decision, sure. I could see the spiritual value of depriving onesself of coffee and ALSO giving that coffee money to a charity...but the public perception of Lent seems to focus almost exclusively on the sacrifice. Obviously the deprivation aspect is symbolically important - as a way to symbolically link onesself to the sacrifices of Jesus, and thus have a better personal understanding of the magnitude of those sacrifices.

Do you (or anyone else) find the real purpose of Lent a little bit overshadowed by this one-sided public perception?

Thanks,
Craig

Craig, you wrote: "is there a "standard" position on what should be given up (by any sect of Christianity), or is the sacrifice left to the discretion of the individual worshipper?"

Great question, with a lot of different answers, but here's mine.

In short, the sacrifice is left to the discretion of the individual. This is true in the Episcopal church (my denomination), and I believe it's true in the Catholic church as well. However, it is traditional, and observed by many Catholics and Episcopalians, to "abstain" from meat on Ash Wednesday and on Fridays during Lent. Although the original purpose of this was to deprive the body, it makes a lot of spiritual sense these days, given what we understand about the energy and environmental costs of meat. Eating lower on the food chain means living more simply and consuming fewer of the resources of God's world, that we share with our fellow man. Although with the state of the world's fisheries, I would suggest eschewing the traditional fish alternative and just going vegetarian on Fridays.

Long ago (Middle Ages), meat, dairy and eggs were given up during Lent. That's why pancakes are a traditional "Shrove Tuesday" dinner - they use up milk and eggs.

These days, the emphasis is not so much on "sacrifice", as on making a conscious attempt to put aside things which separate you from God, and doing things with cause you to draw closer to God. I feel it makes sense for the individual to reflect on the best way to do this. Just rote sacrifice, without reflection, doesn't encourage spiritual growth. Many do find spiritual meaning in sacrifice and denial of some earthly pleasures.

The Wikipedia article on Lent, which I recommend as very good reading, puts it thus: "The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer—through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial—for the annual commemoration of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus."

In the first few centuries AD, new converts to Christianity were baptized on Easter - the only day this was done - and they spent a year preparing for it. Lent was the time of their final preparation, and the whole congregation joined in renewing their devotion to God during this time.
Comments on this issue are most welcome!

From my own experiences of years ago, I really do sympathise with those who seek to advance spiritually through deprivation and discomfort.

[I don't do that any more - I think such practices are not lastingly productive. The Buddha reached the same conclusion after having lived an ascetic life for several years.]

I feel with and for all those lacerated thighs of the Opus Deists, but I think those ardent passionists would travel further spiritually if they gave up their cilices for Lent, and tried a different route.

BKP, I read what you wrote:

"As I sit trying to endure whatever carnal need I gave up (I gave up all meat and will skip lunch for the 40 days), I can truly appreciate the incerdible [sic] suffering Christ endured for us."

I don't mean to be unkind, but do you really think that the discomfort of skipping the Caesar Salad equals the agony of being crucified?

Best to all, and may the archetype of recurrence and rebirth, hidden in the Christian Easter, prevail.

I'm familiar with the idea of Lent, but not the particulars...is there a "standard" position on what should be given up (by any sect of Christianity), or is the sacrifice left to the discretion of the individual worshipper?

It looks like reading through the other posts that people are choosing for themselves what to give up.

Thanks,
Craig

RMCK, I like the idea of reading the psalms during Lent. I have been thinking that this Lent, I would like to read something to encourage spiritual reflection, and I will follow your cue in reading the psalms.
Just as a side note, I am Episcopalian, and we also observe Lent as a time to try to draw closer to God, in whatever way we feel moved to do so... be it fasting, prayer, acts of devotion, etc. I plan to give up alcohol (not much of a sacrifice, but even one drink reduces your awareness of self, and therefore your relationship to God.) I also plan to reduce caffeine. Reducing caffeine also means I will need to get more sleep, which means taking better care of my body which is God's temple.

I don't think I could give up caffeine as it is my one remaining vice but you may have inspired me to drink a little less during Lent.

One year I decided to read the psalms for Lent and they were real eye openers, forgive the pun.

Koenig,
To put it succinctly, to submit to God's will, one must first tame one's own will. Which is why orthodox Christian's fast in some way. Fasting also is a realization of Christ's suffering, and focuses reflection. As I sit trying to endure whatever carnal need I gave up (I gave up all meat and will skip lunch for the 40 days), I can truly appreciate the incerdible suffering Christ endured for us.

Yes, Lent is also a time for reflection, but it is not a "special time" for good deeds. When one submits to God, righteousness is the natural outgrowth. How that righteousness manifests itself is between oneself an God (it can be outward or inward or both). To make a point to do good deeds just because it is Lent also misses the point, I think.

I wish you luck as you travel along your Lenten journey. I will be taking a similar route. I, too, have decided to give up caffeine (in my case, the delivery system is diet soda, rather than coffee). My wife is already preparing for my grumpy-ness and cranky-ness.

I have always viewed "giving something up" as a physical means to a spiritual end. If my body craves something and I make a conscious decision to forego it, it reminds me that there is more to life than satiating my immediate desires and that I should think about everything I do--even something as routine as eating and drinking--in that light. It is a physical way to reinforce the notion (which is all too easy to forget at times) that I am called to be focused on things beyond myself and that I cannot go this 'thing' called life alone.

I've given up caffeine before. It's certainly not easy, but you do feel powerful afterwards. Maybe it's the Holy Spirit?

I've given up caffeine before. It's certainly not easy, but you do feel powerful afterwards. Maybe it's the Holy Spirit?

I've given up caffeine before. It's certainly not easy, but you do feel powerful afterwards. Maybe it's the Holy Spirit?

Lent is not about giving up coffee for Christ. Giving up coffee will not make you a better Christian. Lent should be about reflection, taking on an extra burden (volunteering one day a week at a homeless shelter -- a zillion things that would reflect the true meaning of Lent) ...
But giving up coffee is hardly a true Lenten act.

But as a Lutheran, I may have a different look toward what Lent means -and it means reflection and prayer and focusing on Christ's journey (and our journey, too) toward the Cross. Lent is not about giving up coffee.

I'll be with you in spirit as I give up websurfing at work.

Elizabeth,

I always found it much easier to give up alcohol than coffee at those times I inexplicably found myself intent on abstaining from supposedly deleterious substances.

A few years ago I read that it was easier to get off cocaine than caffeine.

So I fear it may be a difficult Lent for you.

I've never understood why the three Abrahamic
religions thought it was desirable and meritorious to not eat the food which the Lord had provided them.

Isn't fasting a kind of passive resistance to God?

Sort of like a child in a tantrum refusing to eat, or even to breathe (to the point of turning blue)?

Anyway I wish you a comfortable and spiritually-fulfilling Lent.