Addition, Subtraction, and Lent

Lent starts Ash Wednesday, a few days from now. It's a big deal:

"...By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 540)

That doesn't mean that I should go to the nearest desert.

I live in central Minnesota, where the nearest dunes are in the Sand Dunes State Forest. Like many of the state forests, 'Dunes' has an assortment of lakes, ponds, and wet ground. Minnesota is not a particularly dry state: even in drought years.

South Dakota Badlands and Lent

(From Wereldburger758, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
(Badlands National Park, South Dakota, United States)

The nearest place that's desert-like is the South Dakota badlands: only 500 miles west and a bit south. There's paved road all the way, so I could make the trip: in a bit under eight hours, weather and vehicle permitting.

Happily, I don't need to take "in the desert" quite that literally.

Lent is when I should re-live the great events of salvation, and practice "penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing." (Catechism, 1095, 1438)

Penance? Self-denial? Fasting?? No wonder some folks think Christianity is all about being miserable. I'll grant that adopting an 'oh woe, all ye faithful' attitude is popular in some circles, and I've been over that before:

• "Hope, Joy, and 'More Despondent Than Thou?' "
  (January 8, 2012)

Lent: It's an Inside Job

(Me, Ash Wednesday 2011)

The 40 days of Lent is preparation for the Church's big day: Easter.

Sackcloth, ashes, fasting: they can be important, but they're what shows on the outside. The important work is inside me: a "conversion of the heart" that brings me closer to my Lord. (Catechism, 1430)

I've never seen sackcloth used as a penance, by the way. Sackcloth is the sort of cloth generally used for sacks: which is pretty obvious, from the name. We call hessian "burlap" where I live, I grew up calling burlap bags "gunny sacks:" and that's another topic.

You can use the stuff to make rugs, too. It would be distinctly uncomfortable for clothing: particularly undergarments. Which is the idea, of course.

We've been celebrating Lent for about two millennia now, and although the core of our practices hasn't changed, the cultures we work in aren't what they were in the first century.

For example, although the number of days for fasting within Lent has stayed right around 40, the total has varied from today's 46 days by up to three weeks. I suppose someone's upset that we're doing it the "wrong" way: but I think God's more interested in that "conversion of the heart," than in whose schedule we use.

Fasting and Common Sense

Fasting is important, and required for Catholics age 18 to 59: with some exceptions.

"Q. Are there exemptions other than for age from the requirement to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday?

"A. Those that are excused from fast and abstinence outside the age limits include the physically or mentally ill including individuals suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes. Also excluded are pregnant or nursing women. In all cases, common sense should prevail, and ill persons should not further jeopardize their health by fasting."
("Questions and Answers about Lent and Lenten Practices," USCCB)

I'm in my 60s, and diabetic, so fasting isn't an option for me. I like to eat, so that might seem like good news. But since fasting is out, I need to find something to take its place.

Something Extra for Lent

"What are you giving up for Lent" is a common question: and the start of some jokes, like "I'm giving up skydiving for Lent."

Subtracting something from daily routines for Lent is an option, but I try to add something instead. Some years it's been praying a chaplet for the duration. I haven't made up my mind what this year's project will be.

I'd better decide soon, though: Whatever I do, it starts Wednesday.

More, from the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops):

• "Fast & Abstinence"
• "Questions and Answers about Lent and Lenten Practices"

Related posts:

• Work in progress
  
  • "Still Learning to Pray"
    (February 17, 2013)
  • "Giving Up Skydiving for Lent"
    (February 13, 2013)
  • "First Sunday in Lent; God is Reclaiming His Broken Creation"
    (February 26, 2012)
  • "Ash Wednesday, 2012: Another Lent, Another Chaplet"
    (February 22, 2012)
  • "Third Sunday of Lent 2011"
    (March 27, 2011)
• The big picture
  • "Time, Decisions, and a Sense of Scale"
    (September 28, 2013)
  • "Fasting, Penance: and Infinite Depths of Joy"
    (June 3, 2012)
    Particularly
    • Joy: Short-Term and Long-Term
    • God, Rain, and Me
    • Jesus, Joy, and Standing Orders
  • "Diversity in Unity: Two Millennia and Counting"
    (April 18, 2012)
  • "Hope, Joy, and Working for a Better World"
    (September 13, 2011)
    Particularly
    • The Golgotha Incident
    • The Future Looks Pretty Good - - -
    • - - - And We Have Work to Do
  • "We Won: Quite a While Ago"
    (January 13, 2011)

Background:

• "Message of Pope Francis for Lent 2014"
  He became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich
  Pope Francis (December 26, 2013)