Catholics and Lent: Beyond Chocolate

Tthe Easter season meant a couple of things to me as a child growing up Protestant. As the crocuses poked through the soil, it was time to head off to the local department store and buy a brand new, frilly Easter dress-always pastel. Joining the dress would be a hat with rosettes, short white gloves, ruffled white anklets and a pair of patent leather shoes.

Certainly I knew that Lent was a word associated with Easter. For those of us who went to Sunday School each week, it meant filling a small metal box about the size of a can of pepper with coins. On Easter, we brought these mite boxes back to the church. They were supposed to be full of money we had saved by giving up something or earned by working.

What Exactly is Lent?

After becoming a Roman Catholic convert as an adult, I found that Lent grabbed a very special place in my spiritual calendar each year. A great place to read about it is the EWTN site.

Lent is a penitential season of the church that lasts 40 days. It starts with Ash Wednesday each year and ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. In addition to Roman Catholics, members of some Protestant denominations observe the season.

The traditional approach to Lent has been to consider it a season in which to give up things. As a matter of fact, for Catholics, certain days have been designated as times to fast.

Not Just Chocolate

As a Benedictine Oblate (for an explanation of what an Oblate is, see here), I follow the practice of writing down what I resolve to do to observe Lent each year and giving it to the prioress of the monastery I support for approval or comment. Going beyond the highly popular "give ups" of chocolate, other candy and wasting a certain amount of time watching TV always requires some thought.

This year, I had some interesting input from a friend. Also a Roman Catholic convert, she said she thinks of Lent as the time she spent as a child getting ready for Easter. That time included a good scrubbing in the bathtub, a practice adults can repeat figuratively. She said that her Lenten resolutions today are things she considers gifts to God, adding that she doubted he really had a lot of interest in getting a box of chocolate.

Another friend said she finally realized that for years, she had been doing Lent somewhat on autopilot. With a passion for buying and reading books, one of her resolutions was to stop buying them during this penitential season. In one sense, it was a type of fasting for her.

However, she put the money she normally spent on books each week into a piggy bank during Lent and on Easter Sunday headed for the mall to spend it all at the bookstore. She eventually realized that this wasn't giving anything to God. Today, she still saves the money but donates it to a literacy program.

The Gift

A fellow Oblate who is far wiser spiritually than I will ever be says that just because a practice is a gift to God doesn't mean it can't also benefit the giver. For example, if a resolve is to attend a specified number of special Lenten programs, those programs will undoubtedly be of spiritual benefit. The gift to God might well be in picking programs scheduled at times that would normally be inconvenient.

As I gain experience in Lent, I look for resolutions that I can carry with me permanently. Perhaps a decision to purposely buy food at the supermarket for a monthly donation to a food pantry instead of grabbing less-than-desirable items from the shelf at home can become a habit.

Another good one is praying each day for someone who has inflicted a serious hurt. I think it's unlikely that any of us would run out of names for this type of list.

Sources:

http://www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1612033/what_is_an_oblate.html?cat=34