Looking forward to lenten disciplines

[benedictine]

This may sound amazing, but I'm actually looking forward to Lent. What are you all doing(if you know) for your lenten discipline?

[gitlance]

This will actually be my first Lent as an Anglican, so I don't really know what to do. Perhaps some of you could help me by suggesting what the typical practices of the Church are?

In Christ,

gitlance :crossrc:

[Songspinner]

Normally I Take up going to Extra Church Sevices ( Evensong and Stations) study a book of the biible and Give up something, for which all my non-anglican "friends" will then torcher me with for the next 40 days...Just my little tradition

I this year I decided to re-read the chronicles of narnia...ok not really a lenten devotion, but I wanted to re-read them and seem a good as time as any.

[benedictine]

I'm not really sure what I'm going to do.

[pmcleanj]

This will actually be my first Lent as an Anglican, so I don't really know what to do. Perhaps some of you could help me by suggesting what the typical practices of the Church are?

In Christ,

gitlance :crossrc:
Give up chocolate.

Actually, you'd be surprised how common that one is! In my personal experience, it is the single most-practiced Lenten discipline.

Give up meat, alcohol, sweets, caffeine.

Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (a real fast, as in no food) and practice absention on Fridays, and even Wednesdays (no meat, alcohol or sweets, and reduced meal sizes).

Serve weekly in the parish soup kitchen or homeless shelter (or if you already serve, increase your commitment).

Remove household ornaments and veil mirrors. (I don't have candles on the dining table during lent, but I think veiling the mirrors is a bit excessive. Taking down your Christmas decorations is a definate necessity, however ;) )

Spring clean the entire house to get ready for Easter!

[benedictine]

I just had an epiphany! Have evening prayer, and get everyone to church twice a week!


(I'm on the Spiritual Growth Committiee)

[pmcleanj]

I just had an epiphany! Have evening prayer, and get everyone to church twice a week!


(I'm on the Spiritual Growth Committiee)
What a coincidence! I had an Epiphany recently too! ;)

Better still, have evening prayer as the Daily Office it's meant to be, and get everyone to worship seven times a week!

[benedictine]

I'd love to have that happen, but there's no way it'ss happen.

[AveMaria]

Fancy that, I also had an Epiphany! ^_^

I'm still trying to finalize my lenten discipline - I gave up chocolate last year, and it was horrible. My non-church coworkers were horribly cruel and kept bringing in the most decadent chocolate cakes and brownies, in an attempt to play 'let's tease the Christian'. (Joke was on them, when by Easter, they had all gained weight and I was ready for bikini season!)

Someone is organizing a Lenten rosary group at my parish, and I need to call and find out more about that. Love the idea of rereading CS Lewis' Narnia chronicles, I should see if I can find them at the bookstore. (Hmm, how about doing a Lectio Divinia of the Narnia series?).

[Songspinner]

Kinda but not really on the same topic...I love taking part of the watch between Maundy Thursday and Good Friday...one friend say we should try to do the whole thing which I think would be very cool ( from 9-10 the next morning about) But part of the wonderful spiritual part of the watch is being there by yourself just you and God,,,wouldn't be the same with all sorts of people but my be pretty amazing too!

[Songspinner]

- I gave up chocolate last year, and it was horrible. My non-church coworkers were horribly cruel and kept bringing in the most decadent chocolate cakes and brownies, in an attempt to play 'let's tease the Christian'.

YOur wact torcher....I gave up smoking one year....THAT was horrible! :eek:

[TomUK]

I aim to attend at least one more mid-week service over the Lenten period, re-committ myself to daily morning and evening prayer (something i've been neglecting recently and i'm going to give up something though i really don't know what.

[PaladinValer]

1. No meat (except tuna)
2. Only eat foods during breakfast (if I have one) or after sundown.
3. Attend parish more "vigorously"
4. Study the Bible more
5. Give up sex (kidding; just making sure you all are still with me :P)
5. A stricter sleeping schedule as a form of mental discipline.

[julian the apostate]

1. No meat (except tuna)
2. Only eat foods during breakfast (if I have one) or after sundown.


are we talking lent here, or ramadan?

songspinner<<YOur wact torcher....I gave up smoking one year....THAT was horrible!

you have nothing but admiration from me on that you are a lot braver than i am

[PaladinValer]

Lent.

[julian the apostate]

lol
that was quick

[AveMaria]

1. No meat (except tuna)
2. Only eat foods during breakfast (if I have one) or after sundown.
3. Attend parish more "vigorously"
4. Study the Bible more
5. Give up sex (kidding; just making sure you all are still with me :P)
5. A stricter sleeping schedule as a form of mental discipline.

I misread this, and thought it said "Eat only foods during breakfast," and I was wondering what the heck else you ate with your bagel or cheerios!

[gitlance]

I misread this, and thought it said "Eat only foods during breakfast," and I was wondering what the heck else you ate with your bagel or cheerios!

Just to let you know, that was the 2nd funniest thing I've read all day!!!

gitlance

[benedictine]

Well, there are somethings you eat that don't count as foods. Such as processed..... Oh, well, I guess that is a food, but not REAL Foood.

[benedictine]

Here are some ideas I have: (Espicially after reading the responses in this thread.)

1-Lenten Rosary
2-Re-emplement daily office
3-no meat
4-Ash Wednesday and Good Friday Fasts3
5-mid-week service
6-memorizing psalms 22, 95, 96.
7-Reading some random book of the Bible (Ecclesiasticus, Leviticus, 1 Maccabees, something like that)
8-Lectio Divina

[PaladinValer]

I misread this, and thought it said "Eat only foods during breakfast," and I was wondering what the heck else you ate with your bagel or cheerios!

The thing is, I either have nothing, scrambled eggs and sausage with a small cup of juice and a tall glass of milk, or...

...

...

a slimfast

:sorry:

Well, there are somethings you eat that don't count as foods. Such as processed..... Oh, well, I guess that is a food, but not REAL Foood.

You mean spamilicious spam? :thumbsup:

[benedictine]

exactly!

[PaladinValer]

Then I agree; it doesn't qualify as food :ick:

[AveMaria]

Could eating spam daily be considered a Lenten Discipline, do you think?

[PaladinValer]

Naaah; God wouldn't want to torture that badly...

...though perhaps the acid reflux accociate with it is what the Bible means when it talks about the "fire of hell" ;)

[AveMaria]

*groans*

This is going to be an interesting Lent, for me. Normally, I take to the penitant aspects of Lent like a duck to water (ie, Father says "We will spend Lent on our knees", I say "Yes!!!"). But with my wounded knee, I shan't be doing much kneeling - :cry: :cry: :cry:

[PaladinValer]

You always have the option to stand, although God knows that in your heart, you are kneeling in spirit, and that is enough when He knows you cannot do it physically :)

[AveMaria]

Problem is, *I* don't like standing! (I know, I know, excellent opportunity to work on my own issue here - doesn't mean I have to enjoy it!).

[PaladinValer]

How about a designated kneeler then? ^_^

[AveMaria]

LOL, brilliant! I'll recruit someone tomorrow.

[TomUK]

Why don't we as a forum have something running throughout lent. Something that's come up a few times is further study and it'd be great if we could find a way to do that study through the forum.

[benedictine]

Ummmm...... I'm confused as to what you're saying.

[TomUK]

For example, if we were to study a book of the bible then we'd all study the same one and come back here and discuss it etc. or the same sort of thing if we were studying a piece of Christian literature.

[PaladinValer]

I actually have St. Augustine's On Christian Teaching for a textbook for a class I'm taking. That could be fun (it was a fairly cheep book too).

[gtsecc]

This would be fantastic if we all studied something together.

[Songspinner]

All fot it..though I'm on holidays for much of lent so won't be near a computer....sounds like a very cool idea though....


Perhaps I should say i'm giving up the cold for lent??

[benedictine]

Perhaps.:D

I tried once to give up School and homework.:clap: Didn't work though.:mad: :cry:

[AveMaria]

I tried once to give up School and homework.:clap: Didn't work though.:mad: :cry:

I tried doing that, too, and it didn't work either! One of my best friends keeps joking that she'd like to give up her kids for Lent - ^_^

[benedictine]

I tried doing that, too, and it didn't work either! One of my best friends keeps joking that she'd like to give up her kids for Lent - ^_^


How Horrible!:eek: ...........................................;)

[Songspinner]

ok now I have to give up something...everyone one at work was asking me what I was giving up this year...and most of them aren't even Christians never mind Catholic. Last year i wasn't going to give up anything untill the guy in the desk beside me brought a list of things I could give up...again not catholic, Anglican, or even been in a chuch in years...but he was darn sure I would be giving something up...even if he had to come up with it himself...kinda a wierd sort of witnessing I guess

[AveMaria]

Songspinner, that is so odd!

I'm still trying to decide what to give up, this year. Definately not chocolate, and I'd rather not give up meat (I tend to be anemic, thanks to female trouble).

Typically, I do eat out often (on average, 5 nights a week, due to an insane schedule), and I'm thinking about giving up eating out in restuarants or getting takeaway, and using the money I would have spent to help restock one of the community food pantries. (Of course, I need to decide if the $5 I spend eating at church, for my weekly church fellowship dinner counts or not!).

[Songspinner]

Very Cool idea Ave...a diciplin and helping out elsewhere all in faithfull blow!

[UberLutheran]

Fancy that, I also had an Epiphany! ^_^

I'm still trying to finalize my lenten discipline - I gave up chocolate last year, and it was horrible. My non-church coworkers were horribly cruel and kept bringing in the most decadent chocolate cakes and brownies, in an attempt to play 'let's tease the Christian'. (Joke was on them, when by Easter, they had all gained weight and I was ready for bikini season!)

Someone is organizing a Lenten rosary group at my parish, and I need to call and find out more about that. Love the idea of rereading CS Lewis' Narnia chronicles, I should see if I can find them at the bookstore. (Hmm, how about doing a Lectio Divinia of the Narnia series?).

Let me know if you organize a Lenten Rosary group at your parish, or you need help organizing such a group. I'd be interested.

(Since I'm diabetic, and a brittle diabetic at that, messing with my diet is not a good idea. One thing that I did in Advent, which worked -- and I'm tempted to do it again in Lent -- is to make time to read one book a week. It can be a book of Scripture, a good fiction work, an inspirational book -- but something where I have to sit down, slow down, and make time just to read. And trust me: doing that is harder than you think!)

[benedictine]

That's a good idea.

[•Amadeus•]

YOur wact torcher....I gave up smoking one year....THAT was horrible! :eek:

I'd give up smoking, but have never started. :sorry:

[Songspinner]

ok I have had three people at work ask me what I'm givng up this year...including the girl who last year asked me who came first ..Jesus or Moses...Not really the most Church Orientated poeple around, but you can be sure they know when lent is! Anyone else have this problem...while this is a problem I can live with...its very strange having non Christians hold me to my lenten disiplins.

[Songspinner]

I'd give up smoking, but have never started. :sorry:

there's an old Van Dyck movie called "Cold Turkey" where the priest of the town, to get the entire town to quit smoking, starts smoking heavily so he can be with thenm in there struggle

So you have a few weeks to start up ;)

[AveMaria]

Let me know if you organize a Lenten Rosary group at your parish, or you need help organizing such a group. I'd be interested.


There was something in the pew bulletin last week about a Rosary workshop in preperation for Lent, and I'm pretty sure that there is going to be a Lenten Rosary group, on Wednesday, I think. I'll let you know soon as I know more details!