![]() We are not as rugged as our ancestors by any stretch of the imagination – our lives are too comfortable – so we are ill equipped to tackle Lent like them without preparation. Taylor Marshall does a good job explaining the ins and outs of Lenten history, and explains the differences between the disciplines in the East and West, if you desire a more in-depth explanation.įor most of us, including myself, to give up meat (including eggs), and dairy, and not to eat until 3 pm would be very difficult, and we would probably fail. Lenten disciplines were not perfectly uniform in the past, but in essence all ancient Lents consisted of some version of this: no meat, no dairy, sometimes no oil, and usually a meal or two was skipped, or a fast was required until a time later in the day.ĭr. ![]() In addition, the old Lent was very hard, and most of us would fail if we tried it without serious discipline and experience with fasting. Well in the first place, I am not telling anyone what to do – I don’t like being told what to do myself. What Was Trad Lent like?īefore I offer a list of practical disciplines that can be adopted as Lenten practices, we should take a look at what old Lents were like, and I should explain why I am not simply telling everyone to just ‘do a traditional Lent.’ Prepare yourself to be hungry, to be tired, to be cold and to be sore – Lent is not something to be handled with kid gloves. Lent is a time for suffering, pain, and a growth in virtue while we await the Death and Resurrection of Our Lord. Giving up chocolate is not hard, and fasting from being negative is not a thing. Help as many elderly women as possible crossroads, or help the homeless, and make better relationships – these are all wonderful ways to live out the corporal works of mercy, but they are not necessarily penances or mortifications. ![]() Now, by all means it is laudable to do all those things. We were told that instead of doing outdated things like fasting from meat and calories, we could instead help old ladies cross the street, or volunteer at a homeless shelter, or try and build deeper friendships. One of my favourite suggestions I once heard was along the lines of “don’t think of Lent as a time to give something up, but instead as a time to take something on!” Perhaps we can ‘give up chocolate’ like our Catholic-in-name-only schoolteachers used to tell us. Ought we to ‘fast from being negative’ like Father Bob suggested at the interfaith service? So, what shall we do to make this Lent penitential so that it resembles the Lents of our ancestors? Sadly, Lent in most average parishes has become a time to do as little as possible while pretending we are doing something that pleases God. The idea that you would actually do something difficult or that would cause any real suffering was not even considered. ![]() If you grew up outside of Tradition, Lent in your average Novus Ordo parish or Diocesan setting was nothing to write home about. Lent is just around the corner, which means a season of fasting and penance is upon us. The Consecration of Russia Overturned Roe v.Chicago: the Saga of a Cancelled Parish.Response to Critics of Mass of the Ages.Different Kinds of Moral Monsters: Responding to Hart’s Caricature of Catholics.What Shia LaBeouf Understands and Bishop Barron Does Not.ACTION ITEM: Join the Arlington-DC Pilgrimage and Rosary Rally.Her Majesty Has Died, Long Live the King!.What will cause these favored daughters the greatest pain will be the doubt of their own sisters, who will increase their sufferings, but also their merit. The Divine Spouse and I, His loving Mother, and you also will watch over our daughters from Heaven and guide them on the correct path that leads to Paradise. But the great sufferings of my daughters – and yours – of this time will make a melodious concert of humility and hidden penance for my Most Holy Son and myself. Know, beloved daughter, that when your name will become known in the 20th century, there will be many who will not believe, claiming that this devotion is not pleasing to God. The vices of impurity, blasphemy, and sacrilege will dominate in this time of depraved desolation, and that one who should speak out will be silent. "During that epoch the Church will find herself attacked by terrible hordes of the Masonic sect, and this poor Ecuadorian land will be agonizing because of the corruption of customs, unbridled luxury, the impious press, and secular education.
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