Lenten Sacrifice: Will You Give Up or Add to Your Life?
For Catholics and some other Christians, the arrival of Lent means picking a Lenten sacrifice. Giving something up that helps you grow in relationship with Christ. This post shares a reflection from a past homily at Ash Wednesday Mass and incorporates ideas for what you can do during Lent.
It may be the days prior to Ash Wednesday, or even some time into Lent.
There is never a bad time to consider what your Lenten Sacrifice will be each year.
It may be giving something up.
Or, you may elect to add something to your days.
When I woke up on Ash Wednesday in 2015, I thought I had my items to give UP for Lent.
Some years I have elected to focus exclusively upon adding something like daily Mass to my life during Lent in a quest to grow closer in relationship with the Lord.
Other years, it has been a food based sacrifice (like coffee for TWO years in a row) and other times it has been something else with a monetary tie (spending fast.)
For that year, I had chosen my Lenten sacrifice to be a spending fast again in part because of needing to pay medical bills from my doctor visits regarding my being allergic to exercise.
Sitting in Mass on Ash Wednesday, I felt the stirrings of a need to revise that choice.
While I am still going to do a spending fast, the focus is more upon making a conscious decision of whether something is truly a necessity along with using what we have on hand (especially our food stores.)
How do YOU choose a Lenten Sacrifice? Sharing an alternative for this year. #40DaysofSeekingHim #Catholic #Lent http://t.co/vqxY6N9fB8
— Laura O’Neill (@LauraOinAK) February 22, 2015
What got my attention was a comment our pastor made in his homily about how sometimes the sacrifices chosen are not really a sacrifice.
As a Catholic, I am asked to fast from meat on Ash Wednesday and every Friday during Lent. But, if I am eating crab or lobster for my meals, is it truly a sacrifice?
The same can be said for giving up something that doesn’t feel like a sacrifice, like a kid saying he’ll give up eating green vegetables when he doesn’t really like them.
Or someone who barely visits social media giving up Facebook for Lent*.
He continued to share the thought of adding something to our lives that may be a challenge or a bit uncomfortable, yet could lead to personal and spiritual growth. His suggestion was to increase in charity.
This is something that I want to ‘sink my teeth’ into during Lent.
Charity is NOT exclusively tied to money, although many charities are in a place where a donation can help others in need.
Instead of just writing a check, we can be charitable in our interactions with others in our community.
Rather, we can consider how we act both in and out of our houses.
When we go to Mass on Sunday, do we sprint out the door without taking time to talk with fellow parishioners?
When we are busy running errands, do we quickly run in and out of facilities without engaging with the people around us whether with a smile or a polite word?
If you encounter a homeless person when walking down the street, do you ignore them as if they are a leper or just out for a free ride?
At home, are we quick to be rude towards our family members rather than giving them the same consideration we would give to friends or co-workers?
Pope Francis is bringing attention to ways the Church can be charitable in our actions.
His installment of a facility for the homeless to take a shower at the Vatican is just one such action that the Church can show charity. Footage on the media showed just how much of a physical and emotional difference it can be for the people who have benefited from the facility.
At the heart of it is a concrete action by which the dignity of human life is reaffirmed.
While I know I won’t be doing anything on the same kind of scale, I am making a conscious choice to practice charity in my daily life whether in my home or in my community.
Knowing that I am a sinner and prone to bouts of selfishness, I expect to fumble and fall in this practice. But, if I can be pleasant towards others with my words and actions even a few more times a day than I do now, I can hope to establish a better practice of charity in my life.
So, if you are still debating what Lenten sacrifice you are being called to make, it is not too late to make the choice to be more charitable in your life each day.
Not only might you see positive effects in your life, but you never know what effect your smile and kind word might have upon that stranger to whom you offered them.
*Note ~ I do have several friends who give up Facebook every Lent. I think that’s another wonderful way to possibly refocus your life on the people around you. I’m not giving up Facebook as I do too much blog work on it, but I do like to take a day off here and there.
40 Days of Seeking Him Ebook
If you have been reading the blog for a while, then you might recall that this link-up started in 2011 as a daily one.
I didn’t always participate in the link-up but have made an effort to do it as often as possible.
We switched to a weekly link-up format which meant at least one anchor post per week here.
I have pulled together some of our readers’ favorite posts over the years and included new recipes and reflections.
More Ideas of Things to Give Up
Complaining
Negative Talk (to yourself or others!)
Gossiping
Swearing
Snacking between meals
Watching TV/ Binge Viewing
Paying Games on Your Phone
Shopping for non-essential items
Procrastination
Envy (avoiding social media can help with this!)
Do you typically give something UP or add something TO your life during Lent?
Is charity a virtue that you feel called to practice more often in your life?
Which Lenten sacrifice most calls to you this year?
This post was originally published on Feb 19, 2015, as part of the Lent 2015 link -up.
This year, I am joining Trish @ A House Upon the Rock in co-hosting the 40 Days of Seeking Him meme. The linky will be up each week so you can add in posts daily, weekly, or whenever you are able. The posts can be about anything related to Lent and preparing for Easter ~ crafts, food, devotions, music or reflections are all welcomed.
I hope that my readers will join us on the journey through Lent as we seek to grow closer to Christ. Christian bloggers are welcome to join us in the weekly link up with posts that they are writing to showcase activities or reflections taken during this Lenten journey. Visit Beginning the Journey ~ 40 Days of Seeking Him Lent 2015 to check out posts by me or other bloggers or add your own to the link-up.
Laura, welcome to the #WorthRevisit link up – this was DEFINITELY a post worthy of another look!!! I’m a Lent overachiever – ha ha – I do both give up and add on , but my desire is that the decisions I make during this grace filled season will spill into better choices in my life going forward. I guess… that is everyone’s plan, huh!
I vacillate between Lent overachiever and underachiever. So long as I’m getting closer in my relationship with God and one step closer to heaven, I count it all good.
I think being more mindful is a good idea. Sometimes it’s not about what we spend, but what we spend it on.
Thanks for sharing with the Taking on for Lent linky!
It isn’t always popular to truly sacrifice our lives for others, but I do think that this is exactly what molds us more into His image. I’ve been wrestling with thoughts on sacrifice all week, but haven’t been able to get them down on paper or web.
So glad we are doing this again together.
Blessings,
Trish
Hi Laura, I liked your post, especially the part about the fast not really being a sacrifice. In our house today, we talked about giving up behaviors, which have become bad habits or attitudes. Of course I got the eye roll from my girls but I think we are going to try to do it. It will be hard because some behaviors are just second nature so we will have to slow down and think before we respond or act. May God Bless your lent!
Nice post, Laura! Great ideas to reexamine what we do for Lent! I hadn’t heard about the shower facility Pope Francis has installed at the Vatican…what an amazing leader for us all!
Our pipes froze on Pancake Tuesday and we’ve had to shut off the water to one part of the house. I’m so grateful we have running water in the rest of the house! Given continued frigid temps and looking at a couple weeks before we can fix this…I think I’m going to think of the inconveniences as something else to accept graciously…for Lent!
Thanks, Monica! Any time we lose power (and hence water), I find it to be a humbling reminder of how blessed we are with modern conveniences. So many people are not nearly as fortunate as we are. While the lost of them is an inconvenience, it can be a time to embrace a small form of suffering, too.
Every year Fat Tuesday rolls around, and I get that deer in the headlights feeling yet again–WHAT AM I GONNA GIVE UP FOR LENT THIS YEAR??? Or WHAT AM I GONNA DO EXTRA THIS YEAR?
Themes in years past:
Diet–goal to lose 10 pounds by Easter.
Give up anything with sugar.
Give up bread, or coffee, or chocolate–you get the picture. OR:
Give up road rage–how did that one slip out? OH, and how about right along with that one, becoming the kind of driver I wish everyone else was–considerate, defensive, careful, following the rules of the road, praying a blessing on someone who may cut me off or slow me down instead of gritting my teeth and trying not to cuss at them? Does this come under the heading of “Becoming a kinder, gentler soul”? “Becoming less self-centered and more other-centered”? “Loving my neighbor as myself”?
Lord Jesus, it was not easy for you to walk the dusty roads of Israel with a ragtag group of very diverse Jewish men, teaching the lugheads who just didn’t seem to get it. Yet You did just that, and when the time came to make a Sacrifice, You laid down Your Life for them–and for me, the greatest lughead of them all. Thank You for loving us so much, Lord! Make us like You, help us to be and do Your Father’s Will in all things. Walking today with You, driving with grace. Amen.
Anything that causes us to die to self is awesome. I just shy away from some of the old standards now as I see it isn’t a long lasting effect.
Thanks for the prayer, too.
I, too, am reconsidering my Lenten “fast” after a thought-provoking homily last night on why we give up things. Fr. Kelly said Lent is a time of joy because we know God is still working on us and Lent gives us a chance to better ourselves. Therefore, we really shouldn’t be giving up something we plan to go back to at Easter, i.e. candy, but rather should be giving up something that will make is better and continue to improve us even after Lent. He said it’s like giving up adultery for Lent, then going back to it after Lent; it doesn’t make sense. So I am working on decluttering my home #40Bagsin40Days and my heart. I think the simplicity will allow me more time to pray and listen to God’s voice and it is something I definitely plan to continue after Lent.
Thanks for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment, Denise!
I think that’s the same line of thought my pastor had. Penance and fasting of any kind can be challenging, but it is supposed to lead up to God which should create joy.
I need to do more decluttering and in some ways taking a break from buying non-perishables so we use up food stores is a form of decluttering.
Ironically, I usually give up chocolate for Lent.
This year is different. I felt I wasn’t doing it right. So I am/have gave up one of my worst traits.
Always having to have the last word.
I hope it makes me a better person regardless.
Freda,
I struggle with the need for the last word at times. I’ve been working on that one already, but think it is a wonderful thing to ‘give up’ during Lent. I don’t see how sacrificing chocolate leads to me being a better person in the long run.
As an Orthodox Christian entering into Lent, it is encouraging to me to see others looking at ways to deepen their walk. For Orthodox, increased almsgiving, is a part of the “fast” but so frequently it gets pushed aside and lost next to all the “can’t eat this, can’t eat that” discussion. I’ll be watching less Netflix so that I can do more reading. I’m participating in a challenge to read the New Testament during Lent. 6-7 chapters a day!
Tess,
I totally agree that so many people focus on just what to give up from food and often times I don’t think it really gets you on the path fasting is intended to do.
I love the idea of reading the entire New Testament for Lent. Even just the Gospels would be awesome to do.