yeah, it's not only a catholic thing. in my church, we give up something for the 40 days, but we get to do that thing on Sundays.... I think i'm gonna give cafeinated(sp?) beverages...
francis4prez -- I grew up Episocpalian...now I go to a Presbyterian church. I don't think either church makes an official stand on the concept of Lent...I just find spiritual significance in the season, so I try to make a sacrifice during that period of time. I'm giving up carbonated beverages this year....very difficult for me since I live on Dr. Pepper!! I think too many times Christians separate along denominational lines. While there are certainly some points worth debating, they're not necessarily worth separating over. There's so much more we agree on! There are some spiritual aspects I see in Catholocism which I find meaningful for the glorification of Christ. I take more of an ecumenical approach (fancy $5 word!) when considering styles and forms of worship. It seems to me that making a real sacrifice to Christ in your heart during the season of Lent would be met with love by God.
I'm Catholic by association (not technically Catholic, but my husband is and I participate in as much of the Catholic stuff as I'm allowed to). I agree with MadMax that denominations are silly. We usually don't give up anything for Lent except for meat on Fridays, which is a big sacrifice for my husband, though I barely notice it in my diet. I don't just give up something "because it's hard", but because my life needs it. One year I gave up computer games, though I adjusted the dates of my "Lent" by a week or so because of when my qualifying exam was scheduled. This year, I think instead of giving up one thing for a period of time, I'm going to make an effort to reform my life in several areas and hope it sticks. Less food and/or more exercise. Use my alarm clock and get out of bed. More self-discipline at home. Keep a neater house. Stick to my schedule for the day. Don't get sidetracked in terms of going after shallow physical pleasures that you don't really need. In general, when it comes to the times to make those decisions ("should I get up? I'm tired. Can I skip my workout? I'm tempted by this, that, or the other") show a little more fortitude. (also, not surf the Net so much )
Meat. My cremy vanilla protein shake was mmm so good. That is in a spiritual fashion. Tastewise, ugh. The worst part was the viscosity of it. I'm debating on downgrading to red meat.
All Meat except chicken. I gave up carbonated beverages last year, and that stuff is hard to give up. I was irritable all the time, and at the end of Lent, I chugged down an entire 2-liter of sweet, sweet Dr Pepper in one gulp.
