{"id":151,"date":"2011-03-08T10:29:55","date_gmt":"2011-03-08T10:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/flunkingsainthood\/2011\/03\/what-are-you-doing-for-lent.html"},"modified":"2011-03-08T10:29:55","modified_gmt":"2011-03-08T10:29:55","slug":"what-are-you-doing-for-lent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/flunkingsainthood\/2011\/03\/what-are-you-doing-for-lent.html","title":{"rendered":"What Are You Doing for Lent?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"paczki.jpg\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Well, it’s Fat Tuesday, and amidst all the consumption of Paczki<\/a> and Pancakes and such, I need to decide today what I’m doing for Lent. Which — gulp — starts tomorrow. And I want your help.<\/p>\n

In the past, I’ve tried the “giving up” strategy. I’ve given up sweets, television, meat, makeup, and spending money on non-grocery items. I could do any of those again except give up TV, because I’m teaching a course this term on religion and popular culture<\/a> and we watch a lot of clips.<\/p>\n

But it feels like old hat to me. While I appreciate the idea of sacrifice, I worry that my Lenten disciplines have too often devolved into self-improvement experiments. I’d like to have my Lenten be a time of spiritual deepening and preparation for Easter, not just a religious veneer over a quest for thinner thighs. <\/p>\n

What have you done that actually pushed you spiritually? (And if it’s dietary — go ahead and tell me! Just because that wasn’t very spiritual for me doesn’t mean it wasn’t for you.) Have you volunteered at a soup kitchen? Found ways to love your neighbor? Prayed more? Done daily devotions? Read a particular part of the Bible? Given up something that meant a lot to you?<\/p>\n

Thanks for any and all suggestions. –JKR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, it’s Fat Tuesday, and amidst all the consumption of Paczki and Pancakes and such, I need to decide today what I’m doing for Lent. Which — gulp — starts tomorrow. And I want your help. In the past, I’ve tried the “giving up” strategy. I’ve given up sweets, television, meat, makeup, and spending money…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":226,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Are You Doing for Lent? - Flunking Sainthood<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/flunkingsainthood\/2011\/03\/what-are-you-doing-for-lent.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Are You Doing for Lent? - Flunking Sainthood\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Well, it’s Fat Tuesday, and amidst all the consumption of Paczki and Pancakes and such, I need to decide today what I’m doing for Lent. 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