How do you plan on observing Lent this year?

[Anonymous]

Looking for ideas (and frankly just curious!).

[Anonymous]

I try to be a good person and not have any vices the whole year. But I do try to cut down even more on swearing.

[Anonymous]

Penance should involve either mortification (causing bodily discomfort) or some other type of personal suffering (giving up your time for charity work). You could sleep on the hard floor one night a week. You could put a pebble in your shoe and let it bother you. Some slightly easier stuff would be to do your private prayer with arms outstretched until they get really tired and keep holding them up or pray laying prostrate (face down on the floor). Those are a couple ideas.

[Anonymous]

Not sure what religion the above PP is bit I’ve never heard of doing those things. I plan on giving up afternoon coffee. My 10yo is giving up dessert ( Episcopalian)

[Anonymous]

Stop say negative things about others.

[Anonymous]

I'm giving up DCUM

[Anonymous]

First PP is likely some very conservative Opus Dei type of Catholic. I’m Catholic and my Lenten observance is still tbd. The idea in layman’s terms as I was always taught is both to sacrifice and give back in a spiritual way.

If you’re a caffeine junkie, going without coffee cold Turkey for 40 days is certainly a sacrifice, and the caffeine withdrawal may be hard. Is it as hard as being nailed to a cross, no. But it’s pushing you into a place of discomfort and maybe self improvement.

Spiritually it might be volunteer work. Or saying the rosary daily if that hasn’t been your thing.

[Anonymous]

Obviously I was referencing the second, not the first PP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Penance should involve either mortification (causing bodily discomfort) or some other type of personal suffering (giving up your time for charity work). You could sleep on the hard floor one night a week. You could put a pebble in your shoe and let it bother you. Some slightly easier stuff would be to do your private prayer with arms outstretched until they get really tired and keep holding them up or pray laying prostrate (face down on the floor). Those are a couple ideas.

Bodily penance beyond perhaps very minor and limited fasting should not be undertaken except with the advice and supervision of an experienced and competent spiritual director. It can be physically dangerous, and spiritually can promote self-absorption rather than God-centeredness.

“Salutary” (positive) penance ordinarily is far more beneficial. Adding a new prayer, setting time aside for scripture reading, getting more exercise, and especially volunteer work for the needy all ordinarily produce greater spiritual fruit than self-torture. For Christians, Jesus doesn’t need your pain — he had enough of his own.

[Anonymous]

I usually give up baked goods but I've already been dieting since December, so I like the idea of positive penance. I would love to do scripture reading.

[Anonymous]

Giving up any foods with sugar, no swearing, and I like the positive ideas from above and think I will commit to a daily long walk.

[Anonymous]

I've been trying over the past month to think about how I want to live in this post-pandemic era. Where is God calling me? I've been inspired and challenged by a class I took at St. David's Episcopal Church in the Palisades, as well as other reading, and podcast and music listening that I've been doing. During Lent I want to try to consolidate these various threads and pray about them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Penance should involve either mortification (causing bodily discomfort) or some other type of personal suffering (giving up your time for charity work). You could sleep on the hard floor one night a week. You could put a pebble in your shoe and let it bother you. Some slightly easier stuff would be to do your private prayer with arms outstretched until they get really tired and keep holding them up or pray laying prostrate (face down on the floor). Those are a couple ideas.

Maybe you should give up trolling DCUM's religion forum. But then again, you're obviously not Christian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stop say negative things about others.

OP here - this is great. I find I’ve become really, really judgmental of others so maybe consciously stopping those thoughts (and definitely not stating them). Or just giving up complaining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Giving up any foods with sugar, no swearing, and I like the positive ideas from above and think I will commit to a daily long walk.

These are things that even non-religious people do for pleasure. For Lent, people should give up something that they find painful to do without. Maybe foods without sugar -- but certainly not adding a long walk -- that's good for you and not painful.