Giving anything up for Lent?

[teddieriley]

Originally Posted by Jodum5

Raised catholic and I could care less.

Jeez. The expression is "I couldn't care less."

 

[APK]

No thread about Lent or New Year's resolutions in the history of the internet has ever reached completion without someone chiming in with the "I'm giving up not giving up anything for Lent / My New Year's resolution is to not have a New Year's resolution" snark.

It's remarkable, really, considering how clever it's not.

 

[gnatty8]

yes, posting in WAYWRN

 

[emptym]

Originally Posted by JustinW

... Any recommended reading is welcome, thanks!

Originally Posted by londonchris

+1 !
I like Ignatius of Loyola and his tradition. I'm not sure what a good, practical self-help type book would be though. It might be worth it to just buy his autobiography and Spiritual Exercises. A friend likes Thomas Keating, who is currently alive. I haven't read his stuff. For Xn classics, Teresa Avila, and John of the Cross, and the Cloud of Unknowing are great. Ed's suggestion of Thomas Merton is too. As is Meister Eckhart. Evelyn Underhill is a classic interpreter. Bernard McGinn is probably the best living historian/interpreter. William Johnston wrote some good stuff comparing Xn and non-Xn mysticism.

 

[edinatlanta]

Originally Posted by JustinW

I'm a total newb at this. We have a regular Taize service, but it's on my beer drinking night.

Any recommended reading is welcome, thanks!

Originally Posted by londonchris

+1 !

Originally Posted by emptym

I like Ignatius of Loyola and his tradition. I'm not sure what a good, practical self-help type book would be though. It might be worth it to just buy his autobiography and Spiritual Exercises. A friend likes Thomas Keating, who is currently alive. I haven't read his stuff. For Xn classics, Teresa Avila, and John of the Cross, and the Cloud of Unknowing are great. Ed's suggestion of Thomas Merton is too. As is Meister Eckhart. Evalyne Underhill is a classic interpreter. Bernard McGinn is probably the best living historian/interpreter. William Johnston wrote some good stuff comparing Xn and non-Xn mysticism.

Cloud of Unknowing is fantastic. When I was a sophomore or junior in college, our chaplain recommended reading a chapter a day, that's it. Really good stuff. Every library and bookstore should have a copy. The author is a Cistercian so it is anonymous.

There are a ton of books on how to lead a daily live in monastic prayer. Really anything from a contemporary monk will be good in addition to emptym's recommendations.

HOWEVER....best thing to do is just find silence. This may sound dumb or anti-climatic but just be silent and listen. What to do next will come to you.

If you can, spend an afternoon at a monastery (then again I am partial to monasteries) walking around, meditating...or just go to a church. Really whatever you can do for silence. I remember a priest once saying (either at a homily or retreat, can't remember) that the most powerful prayer you can do is just sitting in front of a cross and meditating.

Try not to get too bogged down in books or thinking too much about contemplative prayer, that's my advice. For some reason it is easy to do. I think dudes put it on this magic pedestal that can't be touched when in actuality, it is like any prayer. You just have to put in a little more effort to have the right environment.

At least that is all my experience.

Anyway, the main thing is Silence trumps everything. If you have that, the rest will come.

 

[tagutcow]

I'm giving up beer. Not alcohol, just beer, but my weekly non-beer alcohol consumption is minimal.

It's already giving me difficulties. Not the abstinance from beer in and of itself, but the fact that I was really unoccupied when I went out to a bar last night.

 

[CalTex]

Originally Posted by DerekS

id say im gonna give up the usual....fapping, drinking, fast food, excessive spending, whoring around, etc. But i wont.

Maybe Ill give up lying to myself.

On that note, I am going to give up lying to myself. lol

 

[BP348]

Bread and Tortillas.

Never realized how much I ate until I gave them up. Had a hard time finding lunch today, first place I went to had enchiladas (tortillas) as their special and couldn't do my stand by, Subway, because its bread.

The thing that's going to kill me is the no pizza for 40 days.

 

[junipertwist]

Gave up all non-work-related internet, just in time to stomp out a growing obsession that left me prowling B&S day and night.

It's hard to believe that just a few years ago, I didn't have the entire internet in my pocket whenever I needed it to answer a stupid question or check the news ticker.

 

[jeprox]

no meat/steaks on friday! hard but it worth the try.

 

[Bill Smith]

Yeah, rational thought.