Catholics
dirt track date -- Saturday, July 06, 2002 -- 02:29:01 PMSo why the hell haven't you left the church yet? I have church-shopped off and on for decades, and have never found anything comparable. I disagree with most of the church's teachings, but then so do most other Catholics I know. In what other religion can you cheerfully ignore the official line but still be welcome? I guess that's why I haven't left.
What about you?
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I grew up in a half-Catholic/half-Presbyterian town and it was cool to be Catholic because you got to be late to school on holy days.
Or that's how the Presbyterians saw it, we Catholic kids knew better.
I should call around and get the mass schedule for the churches near work and home so I can decide when to go. I didn't go Sunday, so I don't have this week's bulletin, and the church near work hasn't updated its website since 2004.
I'm giving up meat again. Last year I gave up meat and went to daily mass, but I don't think that's going to fit my schedule this year.
Giving up message boards never seems to work out for me. I'd like to say I could give up sweets or meat but given my current condition, I'm not sure that would work either.
I have class on some Fridays, otherwise I'd be taking Simon to the Stations of the Cross. Bah I'll have to think of something. One thing I could do is purge all the things I've been meaning to give to charity this year.
I often feel like a Lenten dilettante, since I frequently use Lent as an excuse to declutter, or cut out frivolous spending, or what have you. But I feel like the point of Lent is not to be a time for self-improvement, and that I should be doing those things anyway, much in the same way that I should be going to church anyway.
I feel like it's a time to be more observant and to remind us what Christianity is all about. We are already pretty observant, considering we are a dual-religion family and alternate where we go every Sunday. We don't do a daily scripture reading at home. Maybe that's something we could add.
My husband's church has a lot of different ministries so maybe I'll look and see if there is something I could get involved with. They have a recovery ministry I wanted to get involved with last fall but that's probably not practical for me right now.
Lizzie,
I know what you mean. If I give up chocolate or wine, I cherish a slight hope that I might lose a few pounds.
Another way to add something is to link going to mass with carrying a sack of groceries for the poor or toiletries for a homeless shelter. If that is part of your mass preparation, and involves planning and activity during the week to prepare for mass, I think the actions improve our thoughts and focus on the sacrifice.
Thank you, Weaver.
Marsie, that's a great idea. I was talking to my mom yesterday (a lapsed Catholic of many years) and she was talking about going to Aldi and picking up extra cases of stuff to give to the local food banks. We could probably do something like that ourselves.
I'm putting myself on the lapsed Catholic bench. I had forgotten when Ash Wednesday was. I usually give up TPW for Lent, which works since it's something I do automatically and have to stop myself from doing it. But I need to combine that with something, like daily scripture as Curb suggested. I also should be going to Mass and haven't been for a long time. I have a lot of guilt about not going and the longer it's been, the more guilt I have and the harder it is for me to go.
chlucy, I started going to church again after a 10 year absence. I just kept reminding myself that nobody knew it had been so long except me and God. And He didn't care.
I called the church near work, they have a 5:30 mass tomorrow. Perfect.
One of the things I really appreciate about being Catholic is that you can walk into any church in the world and it's the same mass. Can't go near home? Go near work!
I forgot to ask if the 5:30 is in English. Oh, well, it won't be the first time I've accidentally gone to mass in Spanish. I can get by in Spanish, and I don't think this parish would have any other languages.
Part of my guilt is that I feel like the priest is judging me for not attending. He's not (that I know of) but I'm projecting my own feelings and then feeling judged. It's a small enough church that you're not totally anonymous and we've had three kids baptized there in the last 4 years, so he's more likely to recognize me. I know. I know. I need to get over myself and just GO already.
Could you go to a different parish for a time or two? Then when you go back to your home parish, the priest might think it's been forever, but you'll know differently.
Enough people go to church on Ash Wednesday who don't normally go that you'd blend in. After all, you don't know who else hasn't been showing up, now do you?
This is really true and I need to pull my head out and realize that just because we don't live up the street from St. Matt's doesn't mean that we can't go to church. We're within the parish boundaries for the oldest Catholic church in northern, and possibly all of, VA, for God's sake.
(But man, I love St. Matt's so much and it really is the best church I've ever been to and I don't want to go to any other church. Wah.)
So, here in Boston, we don't really do Mardi Gras, but I made cupcakes for work. They're purple, yellow, and green, and everybody's going, "Oh, spring cupcakes!" Jeez. They're not spring cupcakes. It's February. It's three degrees outside. Why would I make spring cupcakes?
So I say they're Mardi Gras cupcakes, and I can totally pick out the Catholics by the look on their face when they say, "uh, that means tomorrow's Ash Wednesday, huh?"
If the priest is judging anyone because they are back at mass and aren't usually there, he's the one with Lenten work to be done!
I don't think he's actually judging me. He's never said anything or made any indication of it, it's my own guilt making me think I'd be judged.
I've gone to Mass the last 4 weeks and am actually looking forward to going. They even had a baptism last week and I kind of enjoyed it. (Happily, ye olde Father shortened up the intro so it wasn't any longer than usual)
I won't be going to Ash Wednesday since that's when everybody goes. Nor Easter Vigil or Easter. I'm kind of the anti-ChrEastian.
I might give up dessert. I truly enjoy that and it's a good reminder.
So I just got a call from a friend who hasn't been to mass in two years. I've been on her case about it and she just asked me to meet her at mass at 9:30! So I guess I'm skipping mass at the high school and will meet her there.
I might give up dessert. I truly enjoy that and it's a good reminder.
Why don't just do good deeds instead? I'm sure Jesus would approve. Like God cares that you give up cake, candy etc. Horsehair shirt shit.
Egan won't be missed, even my mother had what to say about him. Good bye, sourpuss!
I say this every year but it bears printing again. The years I have given up things I loved were the years that I felt most acutely prepared for the celebration of Easter.
I typed in TPW in the address bar, not fully knowing if I would give it up for Lent or not. When the home page loaded, I had been logged out. So. I'll see everyone after Easter.
Good for you, chlucy! See you at Easter.
Actually, sacrifice is pleasing to God.
As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on. -- Luke 21:1-4
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. -- Romans 12:1
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. -- Ephesians 5:1-2
The spiritual discipline exists to remind the observant of Jesus' sacrifice.
Thank you for posting those Diva.
I'm going to give up wine. Well, alcohol actually, but only wine counts since I wouldn't miss any other alcoholic beverage.
There is a self-serving element there--I want to peel off some weight--but I figure if I contribute what we spend on wine to a food bank it will make up for the self-serving part of the sacrifice.
Today is no meat, right?
I thought it was light food, smaller meals than normal and nothing between meals rather than no food at all. That's how we've always done it. I had peanut butter and cereal for lunch and it will probably be pancakes for dinner.
I'm giving up spousal gatekeeping for Lent.