Lent: Not Just About Giving Up Chocolate

I borrow the title for this blog entry from an article from Lubbock Online, the internet home of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. It picks up our theme for this blog, questioning the prevalent idea that  giving up something for Lent is what you are "supposed to do."

Incorporating a new practice is becoming increasingly common, said the Rev. Edson Way of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church. Some people choose to adopt disciplines like Bible study or volunteering — activities that are, Way said, “motivated toward self-improvement and improvement of the surrounding world.”

You can read the whole article at Lent: Not Just About Giving Up Chocolate.

So, what are your hopes and plans for beginning a new practice?  Please let us know by clicking on the "comments" link just below this article.  You will be asked to copy the letters in the word verification box when you are done, to prevent spam/robot comments.

Never responded to a blog before?  Maybe you can make that your new practice in Lent, to comment on this new way of sharing community?

Bruce Calvin

Why Can't I Eat Chocolate During Lent?

As an admitted fan of that dark elixir made from cacao beans, I have never understood or appreciated its consignment as something "sinful."  There is nothing innately bad about it, and the scientific evidence keeps growing that dark chocolate is a health food, imparting great benefits to those who absorb its gifts.  The pleasure it provides is truly a gift from God!

So, why would anyone consider banishing it from his or her life during the 44 days starting on Ash Wednesday and ending on Maunday Thursday?  To say "no chocolate" only makes me more aware of it, and therefore the separation more difficult.  I go without chocolate for days, even weeks at a time, and would never even notice.  But if I am stupid enough to say I will not eat it for a certain time period, then I think about it constantly.  So how does that provide any benefit to my soul or spiritual life?

Bruce