Using at least 3 of these resources OR one you locate on your own, make an argument for why the observation of Lent is important. Although other christian religions do not observe lent in the same way that we do in the Catholic faith, many do indeed still observe their own lenten customs. So, using a classic argument style, make a case for Lent.
http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/religious-observances/lent/6-reasons-to-observe-lent-even-if-youre-not-catholic.aspx
https://aleteia.org/2017/03/01/heres-why-catholics-dont-eat-meat-on-fridays-during-lent/
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/february/13.54.html
A singular match burning up in the darkness is never enough to prepare weak eyes for the brilliant radiance of the sunrise. Lent, a penitential period in Catholic tradition, is often equated with the darkness, an inky something that exists only to be washed out by the glory of the Resurrection. It is a time of grief, denial, and lamentation. Lent is, however, more than this. It is, as the USCCB says, a period “to devote ourselves to seeking the Lord in prayer and reading Scripture, to service by giving alms, and to sacrifice self-control[.]” Lent is important because it is a period of deprivation and reflection—and it is because of this that it is trivialized by a culture so uncomfortable with the purest expression of purification.
ReplyDeleteLent provides Catholics with opportunities for change. It is a tradition rooted in spiritual reflection and growth, and it is for that very reason so thoroughly disturbing that secular culture has claimed Lent as it’s newest trend or “cleanse”. Instead of being treated with the proper solemnity afforded to such a significant religious experience, it had been bastardized into a second shot at abandoned New Year’s resolutions. And while there is nothing wrong with wanting to better oneself and learn to properly exercise discipline in principle, it is, quite simply, not the purpose of Lent. As Vox so eloquently put it, “Lent has, for some, become divorced from its explicitly religious roots. This tension reflects a wider cultural issue: What should the role of Lent be in a society deeply uncomfortable with self-deprivation for its own sake, one that increasingly focuses on “positivity” and “self-improvement”?” The Lenten period is not another opportunity to convince oneself to drink more water or clean the house more often or finally start that diet. It is meant to unify Catholics with the suffering of Christ. It is meant to make Catholics submit their own will to the will of God. It meant to relieve Catholics of the indulgence in this culture of vanity posing as positivity. This not not to say that the ways in which Lent can be experienced are exclusive to Catholics. On the contrary, it seems quite clear that the matters of Lent (self-control, self-deprivation, self-sacrifice, and personal and spiritual growth) are beyond invaluable for any person and often lost in the current culture. The most important part of it all is that it cannot be superficial. Lenten sacrifice has to be rooted in authenticity. It is for this reason that beliefnet.com can claim that “sacrifice is good for a human being’s spirit.” When sacrifice is genuine, there is nothing to gain but the growth that accompanies it. There is no alternative end. Lent proves that the only way to truly achieve “self-improvement” is to defy and submit to self-deprivation.
Lent is not the all-consuming darkness; it is the pathway of candles we light with the dimmest of matches to prepare our eyes for and lead our feet to the radiance of the sun.
http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/religious-observances/lent/6-reasons-to-observe-lent-even-if-youre-not-catholic.aspx
http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/index.cfm
https://www.vox.com/2018/2/14/17007284/why-secular-lent-misses-the-point-christian-ash-wednesday
It’s good that you put in that you cant just half lent you have to go all in to experience it.
DeleteI like how you siad it’s a time to change. Most people don’t realize that lent is not only temporary.
DeletePersonal growth, something we strive for every day. Each morning we wake up and want to be better people than the day before. Usually, this is driven by another person, meaning we want to be better for someone we love. Sound familiar? Not only is this an every day thing, but it also describes Lent perfectly. When most people hear Lent they think of catholic families talking about what they’ll give up over a Friday night fish fry. But Lent is so much more, and it’s not just for “holy rollers.” Lent can be used as a time of personal growth for everyone, Catholic or not. Although it is supposed to prepare a person for Christ’s resurrection, it also helps us focus ourselves to becoming a better version of ourselves. Giving something up can be good for you, even if it’s tough. This helps you look at yourself on a deeper level and see what’s important to you. This can help you grow as a person to be someone better, for yourself or someone else. So if you are Catholic, why should you give up something? Does giving up something you love really make you better somehow? Yes. While it may seem like a burden to give up your favorite food, your bed, the snooze button, or silverware, this is about something deeper. Giving up something is more about conversion. It’s best to see this by trying to give up a frequently committed sin or bad habit. Half way through Lent ask yourself how you’re doing. If you tell yourself, “I can’t wait for Lent to be over,” it’s not too well. But if you feel you can continue on with your new habits, your sacrifice has become a conversion, one to a better you. This is what the first comic in those listed above show me. The dedication one should have to this process. You don’t want to give up something you use so little that you don’t remember you gave it up. Give up something with meaning, and you’ll feel it change you for the better. Catholic or not, try something new this Lent because you never know where it will take you.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/religious-observances/lent/6-reasons-to-observe-lent-even-if-youre-not-catholic.aspx
http://www.catholic.org/lent/faq.php
The first image from above.
I like how you left a challenge at the end for those who do not participate in Lent to give it a try.
DeleteI love how you talk about how Kent can help us to cut out repetitive sins. Also thanks for the shout out!
DeleteA majority of people today have the wrong look and idea of what Lent truly is. Lent is the time of the Christian year in which we prepare ourselves for Good Friday and Easter. It allows us to open our gates to love others and build up our relationship with God and his graces beyond what it may be now. Many people, even some Christians, portray Lent as the part of the year where people do not eat meat on Fridays and give up something random. No one exactly knows why people give up something they know we are fasting but often ask themselves for what reason. There are multiple reasons! It requires us to think about Christ whenever we cannot have has been given up. It also requires us to remember that Jesus fasted forty days in the desert, tempted by the devil. During Lent, sinful acts are recognized and people return want they have left to God. This help remind us that Jesus when through it all for us. He sacrificed himself for all of us so that we may be forgiven. The finally note that Lent does for us is it prepares us for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the fact of new life. Philippians 3:10-11 says “ I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participate in his sufferings, becoming like him in death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Jesus calls all of us to drop everything we have and follow him and if we do we can attain eternal life as a final goal. This is what lent truly means. It is not just a group of Jesus hippies who fast and give up chocolate. It is a part of the Christian year that we are all called to celebrate in to remind us of what Jesus did on the cross and that there is resurrection and eternal life after death.
ReplyDeletePhilippians 3:10-11
https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/lent-101-honoring-the-sacrifice-of-jesus-1382259.html
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/lent?s=t
I like how you talked about not only how it draws us closer to God, but also reminds us of Jesus’s suffering he went through for us.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThe reason, I believe, that people don’t like lent so much is because they know that they should be doing it. It’s like when someone wants to loose weight and they see someone eating healthy and they just KNOW that they should be doing the same. But instead of doing that to make themselves healthy, they post half naked pictures of themselves on Instagram claiming it body love and to love yourself even if you are unhealthy. This is just like Lent. The people who sin,and don’t even try to fast or abstain, feel bad, so they claim that God loves us all the same and that those who do practice lent and all just saying that they are bad, but ,truthfully, they just feel angry at themselves for not doing anything. Fasting is a great way to humble ourselves and grow closer to Christ by learning what’s its like to suffer. Suffering is one of the best things you can do in order to go to heaven. Even if someone doesn’t believe in heaven, you know that suffering is humbling. We have been taught, as a society, to treat others as you would have them treat you. Everyone knows that. In one of the articles that was listed talked about how Lenten sacrifices help you to keep New Years resolutions. So, not only is it good for your mind and soul, it can also be good for your body and everyday life. Often times I think people think that the only thing that you do for lent is give something up. Although, giving something p is good, you can also do something extra. For example, I am trying waking up at 6:30 every morning. Waking up on time isn’t going to send me strait to heaven, but it will help me grow closer to Jesus by doing something I don’t really want to do. Just like everything in life, you do not have to do lent to go to heaven, but it sure helps.
http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/religious-observances/lent/6-reasons-to-observe-lent-even-if-youre-not-catholic.aspx
https://aleteia.org/2017/03/01/heres-why-catholics-dont-eat-meat-on-fridays-during-lent/
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/february/13.54.html
Your comparison to seeing someone eat well is a great example. It shows how most people view a lot of things in life, not just Lent.
ReplyDeleteBelievers of God - even some members of the Catholic faith - tend to undervalue the importance, the holiness and the time for perspective that is Lent. Lent prepares us for the Resurrection of Jesus and, in doing so, closens our relationship with God. Characterizing Lent as a time of simply "giving up a habit" does nothing to achieve deeper meaning, nor does it make us better people. Lent unifies us as a people, as followers of the lord, under the suffering that Jesus endured. He endured for us, Lent is our way of demonstrating that we are an enduring people, too. Giving up certain things, changing our lives in certain ways, not for the sake of the procedures associated with the Catholic faith, but for the betterment of ourselves, for the sake of Jesus is what Lent is all about. This misunderstanding in society has led good people, well-meaning people, on a distant and unclear path away from Jesus. Doing something "extra," doing something that defies the pleasures, the leasiure we take for granted, is a task that is totally essential to the strengthening of the bonds humans already posses with Jesus. Herelin lies a conflict between the authentic and heat-felt undertaking of Lent, and the meaningless compleition of tasks.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/religious-observances/lent/6-reasons-to-observe-lent-even-if-youre-not-catholic.aspx
https://aleteia.org/2017/03/01/heres-why-catholics-dont-eat-meat-on-fridays-during-lent/
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/february/13.54.html
Many people think of Lent as a time of the year where Catholics eat less and don’t eat meat on Fridays. From that viewpoint, Lent may come off to a person with different beliefs as pointless and unnecessary. There is more to Lent than fasting. Despite your religious beliefs, Lent can be/is a very important custom to be practiced. It’s a time of year where you can better yourself by setting goals and trying your best to maintain and reach them. One of the things many people like to do during Lent is giving up something that they usually indulge themselves in. Doing this not only because it is what everybody else is doing, but because you know it will better you is one of the best choices and person can make. Not only is it a great time to set goals and expectations for yourself, but it’s also great for personal reflection. Having a specific time every year for forty days to reflect on some of the negative things in your life can be very beneficial, you can reflect on them and learn how to refrain from similar things happening or learn how to cope with the negative times that you have experienced. These forty days of sacrifice and reflection will help in the long term too, they teach the person performing the sacrifice that there is so much more in life than material goods and pleasures, but there are also spiritual pleasures that we can receive. For Catholics, they believe that the grace of God will help them with their battles and temptations that they encounter. Even for people with other beliefs, you will gain a cleansed mind and become a better person in general. Another reason it is so important is because sacrifice involving any religion/belief is good because you’re offering up a penance in honor of what you believe. In the Catholic faith, meat is sacrificed on Fridays during Lent because meat is a widely known delicacy and Friday is the day that researchers think Jesus to be crucified on. Although it’s intended for Catholics, really anybody can get involved with it as well.
ReplyDelete