Posted on 02/27/2006 9:47:28 AM PST by tje
Just wondered what people were giving up for Lent.
Nothing, since Lent is not Biblical, but pagan, coming directly from the Mystery Relgions of Babylon.
OMGosh, me too! I'm not Catholic, but once gave up chocolate for Lent. I am not a big chocoholic, but I had never wanted chocolate so much in my life!
Forbidden fruit and all that I guess :)
PS- not making light of Lent, just bringing my weaknesses to light.
I'm giving up sobriety.
God Bless
"Maybe a self-proclaimed godless atheist could give up posting in religious threads? Attention whore."
Very nice. I make a joke. You call names.
Last night I was thinking about our love of peanut butter and have to ask you if you've ever had peanut soup?
My sister in law is from Richmond, VA and peanut soup is traditional at Christmas. If you're interested, I can get you the recipe.
"Nothing, since Lent is not Biblical, but pagan, coming directly from the Mystery Relgions of Babylon."
Yeah, that 40 day fast by Christ (not to mention all the other examples of fasting to get one's mind right before serious action and praying in both old and new testaments) has NOTHING to do with Lent.
/sarcasm/
(And, no, not Roman Catholic.)
In fact, your response claiming the source is Babylonian is especially ironic (this is on my mind, since Purim, which is mandated in Ester, approaches) because Ester, who, with God's help, saved the Jews from destruction in Persia FASTED before her pivotal actions.
I try to say one every morning on the way to work instead of listening to the radio. I have what's know as a "thumb rosary" which is a ring with just one decade on it.
Well that explains Clinton.
I wanted to clarify my earlier responses to you. I would say there definitely is pressure within a (practicing) Catholic group to give up something for Lent. We always made sure our kids picked something to give up for Lent and if they didn't, we picked it for them. I wouldn't go so far as to say there's an impression of sin if someone doesn't give up something, but rather folks who don't give up something will probably look upon themselves as weak - the external pressure to sacrifice for a practicing Catholic is that strong.
Many Catholics make personal sacrifices in Advent as well as Lent, but if your point was to just pick a random month, I would say that sacrificing for Our Lord is a widely accepted Catholic devotion, but having sacrificed something at another point doesn't excuse one from sacrificing during the Holy Lenten Season. Throughout the year you'll often hear a Catholic utter the phrase, "I'm offering it up", which really means they're undertaking a personally unpleasant task as a way of praising the Lord. Someone who's had a personally horrific year is unlikely to have a fellow Catholic ask him what he's giving up for Lent. A direction mandating Catholics to give something up for Lent is not in our Catechism and not something Catholics are obligated to do.
One last point. Even among Catholics there are cultural differences about how one gives things up for Lent. My family has always held that one is not obligated to sacrifice on Sundays or St. Patrick's Day (provided Mass was attended). I know some Italian Americans who are horrified at that thought and maintain their sacrifice on Sundays and the feast of St. Joseph (March 19) as well.
Well, this is probably much more than you wanted to know about Catholics and giving things up for Lent, but after yesterday's exchange, I felt obligated to explain it to you.
As ridiculous as all these little rules sound, they are a matter of obedience. Does God care if we eat meat on a Friday? I doubt it. Does God care if we willfully defy an order from our bishop? As a Catholic, I believe He does. We Catholics believe the bishops are the successors to the Apostles. Are they right all the time? No way. (See Cardinal Mahoney in LA for glaring, obscene examples for a bishop run amuck). But to defy an order by a bishop simply to defy it (by, for instance, eating meat) is, to a Catholic, a sin.
Use Mrs. Dash, you'll never miss the salt
I am sorry you have met Catholics who have said that to you. Please understand that is not a good representation of our Faith.
You mentioned that you've got in-laws who are Catholic. It is possible that they've been poorly catechized. (My own Catholic bias tells me indeed this is the case since their daughter left the Faith). Sadly, the state of Catholic religious education in this country is in the toilet. Please, the next time a Catholic tells you something that seems offensive to you, ask them to show you the documentation of it in the Catechism or papal teachings. Likely, it is something that some fourth grade CCD teacher told them and not something Catholics actually believe.
Anyway, I'm not trying to convert you to Catholicism, just asking if you'll please not paint our religion with a broad brush simply because you've met some folks who've poorly represented it.
My doctor told me not to use any salt substitutes. Is that a substitute or just a blend of spices?
It is a blend of spices.
And Protestants...
Excellent. That's the one he was trying to remember the name of.
Lutefisk. Every year, all year.
o lutefisk, o lutefisk, i hung you in the door way
o lutefisk, o lutefisk, just like they do in norway
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