It’s Lent (she says to the three people in the world who missed the last five weeks). That means that all Catholics ages fourteen and up have been obliged to abstain from meat every Friday. I stopped eating meat on all Fridays about two years ago. In the wealth of Catholic resources online, I discovered that, although the USCCB gave us permission to eat meat on Fridays outside of Lent, we were supposed to choose an alternate act of penance. I chose to just not eat meat, and have stuck by that decision ever since (excluding solemnities and the occasional major feast).
However, with every Lent come the traditional fights. How many days are there? Do Sundays “count”? And, is it really so bad to eat meat on Fridays of Lent?
Well, yes. Not because eating meat ought to be a crime (thanks, PETA), but because Christ gave the Church the authority to decide things like this. As with all sin, though, the situation isn’t cut-and-dry. Marcel at Aggie Catholics submitted a post to Catholic Carnival 162 about the objective and subjective natures of this issue.
If you have nothing to eat but meat on a Friday of Lent, you can eat it and not be in sin. Fr. Gurnee (former GWU chaplain) was building a Habitat house in North Carolina when a man offered his group home-barbecued spare ribs. You don’t reject a Southerner’s gift of free food. I once ate half a beef taco before I realized what I was doing. I kept eating it. My friend Joey accidentally got a chicken wrap for lunch last Friday. I advised him that wasting the food and money was worse than just eating it and taking up another penance (like the Stations of the Cross). Fr. Kyle gave the same advice just minutes later.
The penance is the point. At Real Life Rosary, James discussed fasting way back on the first Friday of Lent. Fasting is hard. Sometimes it’s really, really hard. But when we take on hardship and give forth charity and kindness despite our suffering, we give such glory to God. When we give up, we walk right into Satan’s outstretched arms. You can’t win the race unless you run so as to win.
Tags: Lent
Today’s Mass readings—one of the infrequent matching quartets—were about humility. The always-fabulous Bible Geek pointed that out, but I’d gleaned it from my own study as well. He says that the word for “humble” in Greek means “from the ground” or “from the dirt.” To humble yourself is to lower yourself to the ground. To be humble, you must embrace the dirt.
“I must be like the dirt.” That’s not an easy thought for anyone, but it’s important. The Holy Spirit never disappoints: I’ve been noticing a distinct lack of humility in my behavior. I’m so loud. I speak when I know it’s more prudent to stay silent. Sometimes it’s a straight volume issue. Other times, I think I’m too important. A good example was dinner at Chili’s last night. Lynelle took us girls from her FOCUS Bible studies to hang out with Tyler’s Bible study guys from the Naval Academy last night. I sat next to a very quiet guy (like Andrew), which made my loudness even more acute. Being quiet is good for me. On a superficial level, not speaking makes you seem smarter. On a spiritual level, it’s hard to listen while you’re talking.
I’ve also had opportunities to be humble. I’m the CSC Lector Coordinator, so I schedule the lectors every weekend. Due to Superbowl Sunday, I had to lector at 7 p.m. Mass. I almost always attend noon Mass; I get to enjoy our beautiful Memorial Chapel as well as the convenience of midday. But being in charge often means covering for everyone else, so I got up to attend the Spring Retreat Team meeting at 1:30, but not Mass. Matt missed me, which was touching, if more of an ego booster than an opportunity for further humility. I stayed at the CSC until nearly 5:00, waiting for RCIA to dismiss so I could put away the CDA books after our officers meeting. In less than two hours, I returned to prepare for Mass. Even that was humbling, as I performed the classic comic routine Girl Tries to Strike a Match to light the candle under our Marian icon. Fr. Cole, our visiting celebrant, has some unusual mannerisms. He used an unfamiliar Eucharistic prayer that I loved, but he also used intercessions for the memorial of St. Blaise (which is supposed to be automatically superceded by Sunday). So, though I didn’t get to read the prepared General Intercessions, I got last year’s throat blessing renewed.
Lent is about conquering ourselves. Our Lord suffered terribly for us, knowing that his sacrifice would merit our redemption. My suffering can’t redeem anyone but me and the Holy Souls in purgatory, but I’m glad for the opportunity. This season should cultivate that spirit even further.
Tags: Lent
Kate Wicker hosted the Catholic Carnival this week. She has a great “Feast Before the Fast” theme, since Ash Wednesday is next week. I’m not quite ready. We just finished celebrating Christmas!
I submitted a post to the Carnival again, the one about FOCUS Conference, which I also sent to our five FOCUS missionaries. Imagine my embarrassment when, of all days, WP started malfunctioning on Tuesday. I got everything fixed by the end of the day, but I’m still not quite what went wrong. Something about the redirect from my hostess wasn’t working properly, but it’s all good now.
Jen at Daughter of the King ponders her spiritual game plan for this Lent. Last Lent went very well for me. I gave up secular tv and watched a lot of EWTN instead. I resumed praying the rosary every day; I tend to fall in and out of the habit.
My crowning achievement seems strange at first: For Lent, I resolved to take never pass up vegetables. I did this not because, as Fr. Frank lamented, I see Lent as a diet plan. I did it because I realized that food was one area of my life that I hadn’t yet given over to God. I needed to grow up, be healthier, and stop being so picky. Those first few salads and broccoli florets were tough, but I’m so much better for it. I was humiliated to admit my childishness and do something I absolutely did not want to do. Now, not only do I eat vegetables, I also like red and green apples, and I’m working on oranges. Soon I’ll eat the whole pyramid!
I haven’t definitely decided what to do for this Lent. Unfortunately, I am running out of time.
Finally, Heidi at Silent Canticle gives us her thoughts about writing for free. I don’t blog for the glory of God any more than I do everything for God. Blogging for God sounds like it could go the way of Christ the Lord. I’ve never written anything for pay, though, and I copyedit for free (except at CASL, where I was paid hourly regardless of how much work I did). I blog as an extension of the personal journals I’ve kept since middle school. She makes a good point about using the talents God has given us, though. The few posts I’ve had that seem to have really reached people make the whole process worth it.
Tags: Lent, writing
