My religon doesn't fast for lent but what gets me is those posts that are like "repost this or you are denying God". Hardly. God has not ONCE facebooked me and asked me why I didn't repost.

=))

The Bible says to do many things privately, which has always made me wonder why the need for churches and confessionals and all that crap?

In our culture we fast privately. We go out in to the bush by ourselves for four days - no food, water, and only very basic necessities. You don't talk about it or brag about it, you just go out and do it. It's called a Vision Quest and it is a sacred time when you can (hopefully) get some insight into your life and get some questions answered if The Great Spirit and the Ancestors feel you are ready for those visions, insights and answers.

Church makes no sense to me personally (not bashing ANYONE who goes to church or enjoys going - to each your own). But it kind of goes against the basic principle of being humble and being alone and quiet with God so you can truly speak to him and hear him, if he's got something to tell you.

handtowelLady said:

I'm heading over to FB to change my status to - "Giving up public fisting for lent! Go me!"

I thought that was what the title was bahahaha

@verdictlesslife - Yes, I know.

We bless our food too before every meal. We gather more to celebrate in our culture than worship.

We believe that it's important for everyone to have a unique, very personal, very individual relationship with god. Our sweat lodges give us the chance to come together in experience with others, but not to "worship."

Like I said, I am not here to argue over religious beliefs, I'm just saying I don't understand the purpose and concept of some, largely because my traditions are different and they are the ones I follow.

Our people do gather, to feast, to share stories and learn about culture/tradition, but we don't gather together to worship the Creator the same way people gather in a church.

mmmmm corn bread
=P~

People go to church for the same reasons there are mommy groups. People need support, friendship and a chance to get together. Unfortunately, like some mommy groups, they get out of hand with the one-upmanship. I like the church I go to. Real people with real problems but real support too. And I totally agree with the public fasting and bragging what you're giving up. I don't practice Lent - why give something up when you're just going back to it in the end? Anyway...If you want to practise Lent - go for it. But what's between you and God, stays between you and God.

mommydelirious said:

My religon doesn't fast for lent but what gets me is those posts that are like "repost this or you are denying God". Hardly. God has not ONCE facebooked me and asked me why I didn't repost.

SO stealing this for the next time I see one of those posts

@canadamom I think talking about what you are giving up at school is more a learning experience, understanding how it works, why we'd do it at all, that sort of thing. I remember talking about it when I was little too. I'm still catholic, I still try to fast and abstain during lent, sometimes with more success than others. Some of the stuff on FB makes me NUTS though. I have a friend who decided to give up gluten and something else, but from his posts he's mostly giving it up to lose the last bit of weight he'd been trying to lose and every day there is an update about how hard it is and what he's doing instead and how much weight he's lost.

I recently read an article about meatless Fridays and how meaningless they could be these days. how much of a sacrifice is is to have lobster & salmon for dinner on Friday out with friends. We don't eat much red meat anyway because of our budget so giving up meat would have been a SUPER easy thing for me to do for lent, but woudn't have had any meaning or sacrifice for us. We have made some changes in the things we are doing every day, but we've made them private changes, no FB posts or tweets about them. When I am having a hard time sticking to them I've said a prayer in my head, not groaned to everyone in the office how hard it is and how I just wish I could do what ever. For me that's more what it's about than anything. Looking into myself.

For those who care, last year during let I found this and I don't know where so I can't give credit, but I've kept it next to my monitor

Lent is a call to be what we could have been & are not, grieve for what we should have done and did not. The opprotunity to change what we ought to change but have not. it's not about penance, but about becoming, doing and changing whatever it is that blocks us from the fullness of life in us right now. It's a summons to live anew.

I don't think kids talking about it is a big deal or even telling someone if you're asked. But what really bugs me is things like @hercraxymamma's friend.  The priest where my parents go to church gave the following homily during the first week of Lent this year about his experience on Ash Wednesday and it really hit home on this subject with me.  (Note I wasn't actually at this mass so this is the synopsis that my mom gave me)

The priest was at a nursing home to celebrate mass with the residents for Ash Wednesday and after mass he was invited to stay for a light lunch (fasting in the Catholic sense doesn't mean nothing at all and this is allowed in case you didn't know). The following day was a resident's birthday and someone had brought in a tray of cookies and cupcakes to celebrate. When the tray was offered to the priest he kindly said "No, thank you. I can't."  He said that after he left he was thinking about it and really regretting not taking something from the tray.  He went on to explain that we should take each instance of our fasting individually.  At that moment will denying yourself something hurt someone else? Which is the greater sin to break from your self sacrifice for your own sake or to hurt someone else's feeling?  In this case he chose to deny himself and not only did it bring attention to himself (i.e. gloating) but also may have hurt the person whose life they were celebrating and made the person who brought in the sweets feel like they did something wrong. For this particular instance, he felt he made the wrong choice.

thanks @PhDMommy, I was begining to wonder if I'd rambled on too long, glad to know someone read it all :)

I totally agree with what the priest said.  It's about each individual circumstance & person.