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Did anyone else give up catholicism on Lent?

Discussion in 'Free-For-All Archives' started by Daniel David, Mar 3, 2004.

  1. trying2understand

    trying2understand New Member

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    I am not familiar with this tradition. My guess is that it is local to your area. I find it to be an attractive idea. As Catholics we are all part of the same Curch/family.

    I know that when I travel, I really enjoy visiting other Catholic Churches. I find comfort in the similarity and excitement in the subtle variations. How the Church is designed, what songs they sing, etc.

    Even though I do not know Spanish, I greatly cherish Easter Mass in Mexico (in Spanish). I understand exactly what is going on inspite of lack of language.

    You find extremists and the ill informed in any group. Self mortification by fasting is one thing, physically harming yourself is another.

    No offense taken, and hopefully you will not be offended by my statement that sola scriptura is a man made religion unto itself.
     
  2. Melanie

    Melanie Active Member
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    Mike,
    Of course we should if we are thinking and hold our spiritual life at the forefront of our lives, but most folk do not.

    For RCs, the year is tacked to a liturgical calender which works its way from Easter through to Christmas, which allows the Sunday Service to focus its scripture readings to the calender of the Life of Jesus. I am sorry I have a clumsy way of expressing myself as I am not a scholar, merely a lay person who loves Jesus.
     
  3. neal4christ

    neal4christ New Member

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    Constantine,

    My post was not directed at you, but at Daniel David, who started this thread. Sorry, I should have clarified.

    In Christ,
    Neal
     
  4. Kiffin

    Kiffin New Member

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    That is very true plus Anglican Churches, many Methodists, as well as some Presbyterians and Baptist Churches. I find Lent makes Easter more meaningful plus there is a added emphasis on Evangelism. At my Baptist Church, we give out New Testaments and invitations to our Good Friday and Easter Sunday services.
     
  5. Dr. Bob

    Dr. Bob Administrator
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    Obviously DD is poking a jab tongue-in-cheek at a tradition of catholics and much of protestantism.

    The concept of fasting for a period of time (usually tied to a major religious holiday) is common in most religions and all paganism.

    It is not biblical per se and sadly can make people feel like they are "doing" something . . when the work of Good Friday/Easter is something that is already DONE!

    If someone fasts (biblically) at ANY time, then this is great. IF they do a "show" of it or a ritual out of it, they lose the benefit.

    Check the Sermon on the Mount for REAL fasting.
     
  6. Dr. Bob

    Dr. Bob Administrator
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    BTW, I gave up my New Year's diet for Lent! [​IMG]
     
  7. frozencell

    frozencell Guest

    Great point! The original idea was that the people would have a feast so as not to let all the stored foods go to waste or rot. (Good stewards of what Christ had provided.) It was not intended as a glutton's sex party; commerecialism and corporations have turned it into this.
     
  8. frozencell

    frozencell Guest

    Thats interesting. As an evangelical, I personally have never done anything specifically during "lent", or any other time of the year. Christ is my life every day of the year, and I ponder on all of His goodness every day of the year.

    I seek to "prepare for" and allow Christ to live out His resurrection in and through me every day of the year.

    I ponder the scriptures every day of my life. Its an important part of my day...every day of the year. About the "passion" and multitudes of other wonderful facets of Gods scriptures.

    Why not do like we do and "identify" with the suffering of Christ on our behalf, and His living out His resurrection life through us...every day of the year.?

    Why limit these things like this?

    God bless,

    Mike
    </font>[/QUOTE]Catholics do not limit themselves to this time of year. Good Catholics, just like any other good Christian, practice this all year long. It's just a time of special emphasis this time of year, and there isn't anything wrong with that.
     
  9. D28guy

    D28guy New Member

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    Trying2understand...

    The point of my post had nothing to do with being perfect all the time. Nobody is perfect all the time.

    The point was that I remember, during my 24 years as a catholic, that the whole year was divided up into these sections. This is the time we think about this...this is the time we focus on that...this is the time we meditate on this...this is the time set aside for that...etc, etc, etc.

    All the while, we...all of us, me, my friends and siblings, my parents, my friends and their siblings and parents, etc...we were all the most biblically illiterate bunch you could imagine.(this was a large parish, with a parochial school, and we all pretty much grew up together, all of us catholics) We knew a bunch of facts, but nothing was really being internalised, in any life changing way.

    All during those 24 years, I dont remember anyone, not my parents of siblings, my friends, their parents and siblings, people at church the monsignor and all the priests and nuns, I remember absolutly no one who in any way gave me the impression that there was anything more to Christ than just a figure hanging dead on a cross. I was never given any impression that anyone had had any kind of significant relationship with Christ. I observed nothing that in the least bit made Jesus Christ seem attractive to me.

    It wasnt until I got away from home, after high school, that I began to encounter born again people. People who were born again, and it showed. And I was struck by how these people clearly were living for Jesus, clearly knew Him, in a personal way, and lived in such a way that it was evident. I was very intriqued by these people, and it was because I was drawn to the Jesus in them, and the fruit of that relationship...that was so observable. These people did not just know facts about Christ, they literally seemed to KNOW Christ.

    And after my conversion(about 2 years later, after bumping into more and more christians, all of them so seemingly impacted by a living Christ), after God moved me into a biblical christian fellowship, I was immedietly struck that they had none of these divisions that I remembered. They simply werent needed.

    It was all Jesus, all the time. It was all God, all the time. It was all the scriptures, all the time. It was all spiritual development and life, all the time.

    Being in the church building was absolutly no different than the rest of the week away from it. It was so liberating, so good, and so biblically true. This difference I was seeing could be summed up with this...

    "But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not Gods. But now, after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire to be in bondage. Your observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain."

    I hope that helps to clear up my reason for posting as I did.

    God bless,

    Mike
     
  10. D28guy

    D28guy New Member

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    Briony,

    My experience is that catholics do not. My experience is that in more biblical and true to the scriptures fellowships the percentage of people living for Christ all the time is much much higher...for obvious reasons. Hopefully my post to "trying2understand" help you to understand where I am coming from.

    I realise that.

    It does my heart good to know you are a lay person who loves Jesus, and just for the record I do not find your posts to be clumsy at all. You communicate very well. And being a "scholar" means a whole lot less than some people think it means. [​IMG]

    Grace and peace,

    Mike
     
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