Thursday, February 22, 2007

Avoid the Temptation to "Overdo" Lent

Yesterday, Eric and I had a long conversation about his chosen Lenten devotions. He described to me what he was planning to sacrifice (actually two things) and asked me what I thought about the ideas. I actually advised him to scale back on one of them, to make it a bit "easier" for him - my thinking was that he would likely not be able to remain committed to that particular fast and that he might experience guilt or remorse if he gave up on it. I tried to explain to him that I didn't think his fast needed to be punitive, and that it needed to be kept in the perspective of how sacrificing that particular item would ultimately bring him closer to Jesus.

I wish I would have had a copy of the new article I just posted at CatholicMom.com by our resident Dad, James Hahn - it expresses the exact sentiments I would have liked to share with Eric. I'll be giving him a copy this evening and would love it if you would take time to read this column too.

Avoid the Temptation to "Overdo" Lent by James Hahn

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Lisa,

I wish Catholics would consider give up swearing and cussing for Lent (or at least on Fridays). I work with individuals who "can't have meat during Friday's lunch" but have no problem using every 4-letter word imaginable. I don't think giving up meat would have as big as an impact in drawing us closer to God, then to stop taking his name in vain.