The Lenten Season
Wednesday, March 6, 2019 at 08:20AM Are you giving up any glam for Lent?
You’ll see folks with ashes on their foreheads today. Mardi Gras is over and the Lenten season has begun.
Most folks that I know give up things like chocolate, donuts, Twitter… when I was in college, one of my Catholic roommates gave up boys for 40 days because she was just over it. (This seriously happened).
So this morning I got to thinking “I wonder if any of the glam faithful give up their favorite music during Lent?”
I couldn’t do it. I can’t imagine not being able to listen to whatever I want, whenever I want. The thought makes me shudder.
Thoughts?
The Lenten journey begins today, Ash Wednesday. I invite each of you to live this time in an authentic spirit of penance and conversion, like a return to the Father, who awaits us all with open arms.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 6, 2019
Reader Comments (29)
Please don't judge all Christian faiths based on bad personal experiences. There are bad people everywhere, hypocrites and the like. There are those who hide sin and those who excuse it away. There are also many who will twist the Scriptures to teach things God never intended, and add things that God never said, and many will be misled in this life and lost eternally even though they have the best of intentions. God is the judge in the end and He will judge righteously. I urge you, if you consider yourself a Christian, to measure your life to what the Bible says and not to what any preacher says. The preacher won't save you, only God can do that.
Getting back to Ally's original question, I don't give up anything for Lent. I used to when I was a kid. I used to give up candy, and part of the sacrifice was to donate the money that you would have used on your "temptation" to a charitable organization. In my Grade school, the nuns used to give out these make-shift cardboard piggy-banks to donate your money. Ironically, he bank itself had the charity listed on the outside- The Camilla Hall Nursing center- where sick and retired nuns go to spend their final days. So much for free will. I jest. But every year, I saved about $20, my parents put in more money and I tuned in my bank to the school, whereby the nuns stole the money out of it and bought cigarettes and vodka. I jest.
In College, I took a Philosophy Course, taught by a very progressive priest. I remember a lecture about the Lenten season. He believed it was a time more for self-reflection and an opportunity to work on yourself- whether to be a better student, a better boyfriend, a better parents, etc...because in that capacity working on those goals rather than giving up a vice for a few weeks will collectively benefit you (and society) better in the long run. And, I've decided that I can do that with or without Lent...and without or without religion.
I don't begrudge people who embrace God and Religion. I begrudge the hypocrisy of it and I begrudge the stone throwers in the Religions.
Everybody needs a little place they can hide
Somewhere to call their own
Don't let nobody inside
Every now and then we all need to let go
For some it's the doctor
For me it's rock and roll
For some it's a bottle
For some it's a pill
Some people wave the Bible
Cause it's giving them a thrill
Others point their finger
If they don't like what they see
If you live in a glass house
Don't be throwing rocks at me
We all need a little shelter
Just a little helper to get us by
We all need a little shelter
Just a little helper, and it'll be alright
Check out Mr. Politician in his suit and tie
But when the doors are closed
There ain't nothin' he won't try
Meanwhile Mr. Medicine's
treating his best friend's wife
Tipper lead the war against the record industry
She said she saw the devil on her MTV
To look into the cabinet
It takes more than a key
Just like Jimmy's skeletons
And his ministry
For some it's the needle
For some it's the kill
Some people wave the Bible
'Cause it's giving them a thrill
You can spend your money
Before you get your pay
With a toss of the dice
You can piss it all away
We all need a little shelter
I also will add (as if into the ether, but it does help) this: a very, very close friend of mine died this past week (days after I posted that comment). A somewhat short-term, and relatively pain-free, battle with brain cancer. This was a person I called a mentor, then a friend and colleague. I can't even begin to explain what a loss like this does to me. I feel better reflecting on the memories I have of my time with him, time spent over decades. I also feel better knowing that he passed away comforted by his faith and surrounded by people who loved him. If anything, this shock to my system reaffirms my belief in what I wrote. His loss is a significant one. But the choices he made, and the lives he inspired, will live long after he is gone.