How do you know what to give up for Lent?
How do you know what to give up for Lent?
“What are you sacrificing for” Lent?” For numerous Catholics, this inquiry seems to arise almost instinctively — often even before the final box of Christmas decorations has been put away and stored. Having spent the majority of my life within that group and among those individuals, I believe it’s due to the fact that Lent can resemble a contest, a 40-day spiritual race featuring victors and defeated.
Every Ash Wednesday, it appeared to me, the church cast personal sanctity down like a challenge. The objective, I believed, was to embrace the test and do all I could to succeed in accomplishing it. My inherently competitive spirit signifies that I have consistently been eager to accept nearly any challenge. Practicing the faith was no different.
Raising the stakes during Lent
That’s one reason I concluded that the more challenging and exhausting Lent was, the more beneficial it would be. It was a question of straightforward reasoning. If fasting on Fridays showed my devotion to God; therefore, fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays would enhance that even further. If praying one novena was valuable, then doing two or three must be even more advantageous. Each time I learned of another’s sacrifice, I would challenge myself to do more. If someone was abstaining from coffee, I’d pledge to only drink water. When someone I was acquainted with would forego chocolate (and there was always at least one), I’d strive to eliminate all sweets. There were years when I even placed pebbles or toothpicks in the bottoms of my shoes throughout the season. Nothing was excessive for me.
And that was the issue. In engaging in all those activities, I failed to understand the essence of Lenten penitential traditions and disciplines. I didn’t comprehend that since nothing was excessive, nothing would ever suffice. Instead of embracing my shortcomings, I attempted to pursue my spiritual journey beyond my capabilities and the extent of my strength. Those endeavors never yielded the fruits of repentance in my life. On the contrary, they left me drained and inflated with pride. Eventually, I came to the realization that amplifying penitential practices in anticipation of Easter is not about self-advancement or competition. Consequently, I resolved to cease sacrificing things for Lent.
For over ten years now, I’ve been allowing God to determine what I should relinquish for Lent. And he has selected some truly significant challenges. The items God has prompted me to forgo have pushed me at a much deeper level since they demand more faith than I can generate on my own. This method has genuinely altered what I derive from Lenten observances because God understands my needs far better than I do. He is eager to unveil all the aspects I have permitted to occupy his position. Furthermore, he is more than ready to disclose the array of idols within my heart, particularly when I am convinced there are none.
Enabling God to select our Lenten burdens
The reality is that the burdens I used to select — even the toughest ones — were still under my jurisdiction, simply because I was the one making the choices. At times, they demanded a great deal of self-discipline from me, but they also boosted my sense of accomplishment. Conversely, relocating across the nation, confronting a health emergency, or experiencing loss of financial stability shakes the foundation beneath me. And that’s the sole way I can genuinely understand what I have been relying on all this time.
God knows exactly what it requires for each of us to depend on him, to embrace his grace, and to have greater faith in him.
As St. Francis de Sales wrote, “The eternal God has in his wisdom anticipated from eternity the cross that he now offers to you as a gift from his deepest heart. This cross he now delivers to you has been examined by his all-seeing eyes, comprehended by his divine intellect, scrutinized with his wise justice, embraced with loving arms, and weighed with his own hands to ensure it is not a single inch too large nor an ounce too heavy for you. He has sanctified it with his holy name, infused it with his grace, scented it with his comfort, taken one final look at you and your courage, and then dispatched it to you from heaven, a unique message from God to you, a donation of the boundless love of God.”
