Chocolate During Lent

[Mrs_Sally]

In growing spiritually I see Lent more as taking something up in spiritual practice rather than necessarily giving up just sweet food temptations. There are more ways to mortify the weaknesses of denying the ways of the flesh than giving up favorite food cravings.
Maybe it just me but this never seems to be exemplified or taught enough in the Church in Homilies during Lent.

This is true to an extent. But think about it this way. For someone who is healthy and doesn’t have any particular reason to restrict their diet, they may eat sweets including chocolate several times an week or even everyday. If every day for 40 days, when they thought to have a candy bar, they said instead “Oh wait, it’s Lent and I gave that up” that person’s mind will naturally turn to God. So each candy bar, office party cake, or dessert becomes an opportunity to think of God and perhaps even explain to others. There can be spiritual growth even in the observences that may on the surface seem “childish”.

 

[centurionguard]

This is true to an extent. But think about it this way. For someone who is healthy and doesn’t have any particular reason to restrict their diet, they may eat sweets including chocolate several times an week or even everyday. If every day for 40 days, when they thought to have a candy bar, they said instead “Oh wait, it’s Lent and I gave that up” that person’s mind will naturally turn to God. So each candy bar, office party cake, or dessert becomes an opportunity to think of God and perhaps even explain to others. There can be spiritual growth even in the observences that may on the surface seem “childish”.

Well really I never gave it a thought that any discipline in spiritual growth and mortification of the five senses or even disciplining certain thoughts of the mind itself was childish.

For too many years I got caught up in always mortifying the sense of taste during Lent.
I think most Catholics automatically think giving up of taste/food during Lent.
For some food is not a hang-up.
Its different for everyone if you can humbly acknowledge your greatest weaknesses of the flesh and address them accordingly to which might be the easier to mortify first.

 

[Lamafacaja]

I Think that the bishops say that all chocolate from Christmas MUST be eaten prior to Ash Wednesday. Any other chocolate in the house should be locked in the liquor cabinet to be taken out on Sundays only during Lent.

 

[utah_rose]

If you’re a chocoholic like me, there isn’t ANY chocolate left in the house after Christmas–if it lasts till New Years thats a long time.

Seriously though, there are people who don’t really care for sweet things. I try and give up chocolate but last year went overboard in not watching my favorite TV shows AND giving up listening to secular music. I ended up being very depressed, so am going to do it a little differently.

This year I’m going to give up chocolate, but do different things each day that are hard for me like being nice, visiting someone who is ill and LISTENING to people talk about their problems.

I think it’s a good idea to try and do something different each day. For a few months, I have tried not to listen to secular music on each Friday and to sacrifice sweets, and it is hard for me.

Mother Angelica has a good saying about penance. If it makes you grumpy, its not a good one. And I sure have a problem staying away from those delicious Cadbury carmel eggs! Guess I’d better keep a smile on my face anyway. Happy Lent!

 

[Lamafacaja]

If you’re a chocoholic like me, there isn’t ANY chocolate left in the house after Christmas–if it lasts till New Years thats a long time.

Seriously though, there are people who don’t really care for sweet things. I try and give up chocolate but last year went overboard in not watching my favorite TV shows AND giving up listening to secular music. I ended up being very depressed, so am going to do it a little differently.

This year I’m going to give up chocolate, but do different things each day that are hard for me like being nice, visiting someone who is ill and LISTENING to people talk about their problems.

I think it’s a good idea to try and do something different each day. For a few months, I have tried not to listen to secular music on each Friday and to sacrifice sweets, and it is hard for me.

Mother Angelica has a good saying about penance. If it makes you grumpy, its not a good one. And I sure have a problem staying away from those delicious Cadbury carmel eggs! Guess I’d better keep a smile on my face anyway. Happy Lent!

Well, I got a loot of chocolate for Christmas–and Valentines Day… I have to break it out today and tomorrow. Five kids in the house here, so not a problem!

No chocolate or canny for me for Lent, and I’m giving up wine, accept for Sundays. I can’t deal with giving up coffee. I wish I could, but I’d be a real crab.

 

[garn9173]

Thankfully in my parish we have a wonderful priest who speaks of this issue every year in the weeks leading up to Lent. His message is: Lent shouldn’t just be about giving something up; it should also be about doing more. Last year he focused on how we should be looking for ways to help those around us. This year his focus seems to be on adding a spiritual practice (e.g. daily rosary or LotH) to our lives during this time.

Luna

That was the message in the Homily given by a Deacon at my Parish yesterday. He encouraged adults to not give something up for Lent, but to be more prayful, more forgiving, more patient, more chariable, providing a random act of kidness, etc.

 

[Elizium23]

The true, traditional practice of Lent has been the triple discipline of prayer, fasting and almsgiving; “giving something up” is simply the second prong of that discipline, extending the simple fasting rules in canon law. Ideally our Lenten game plan should include aspects of all three.

 

[Lamafacaja]

That was the message in the Homily given by a Deacon at my Parish yesterday. He encouraged adults to not give something up for Lent, but to be more prayful, more forgiving, more patient, more chariable, providing a random act of kidness, etc.

Oh you gotta give something up. It’s important.

 

[garn9173]

Oh you gotta give something up. It’s important.

From the “Ask an Apologist” subforum, there are no rules that require American Catholics “give something up for Lent.” Now if a Catholic parent is forcing their children to give something up for Lent like sweets like I was made to do growing up, then IMO, the parents should set a good example and give something up as well.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=310536&highlight=Giving+something+up+for+Lent

 

[pollycarp]

We were never forced to give anything up. The nuns told us we should, so we usually did, and it got to be kind of a “I’m giving up better stuff than you” game with friends. We learned self-discipline. Isn’t self-denial a big part of growing in holiness?

 

[centurionguard]

From the “Ask an Apologist” subforum, there are no rules that require American Catholics “give something up for Lent.” Now if a Catholic parent is forcing their children to give something up for Lent like sweets like I was made to do growing up, then IMO, the parents should set a good example and give something up as well.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=310536&highlight=Giving+something+up+for+Lent

Lent is about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Catholics are called to live liturgically by actually entering into the Church year. Such an approach to life and worship is not simply about re-enacting the great events of Salvation history - or what is called the “Paschal Mystery”, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Rather, it is an invitation to all the baptized, living their lives now in the Church which is the Body of Christ and thus to enter into the deeper meaning of our faith; to experience our Salvation as an ongoing process as we cooperate with grace and allow the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead, to change us from within making us more like Him.

The goal of Lent is not just to abstain from sin for the duration of Lent but to root sin out of our lives forever. Our Conversion means leaving behind an old sinful way of living and imitating our new life in the same humble footsteps of Jesus Christ our Savior.

In this Conversion we do and must (“Give Up”) our old self by denying our ways of the flesh and thus effectively put on our new spiritual life in the footsteps of Christ.

 

[rhiannonh]

Oh you gotta give something up. It’s important.

Only if you know why you are giving something up, otherwise its fruitless…it bears no fruit to just simply give something up for 40 days.

 

[rhiannonh]

Oh you gotta give something up. It’s important.

and the quote you have used, if you look at it wisely and try to do follow it all then you be definately giving something up. You be giving youself up to God in trying to be more faithful to the scripture by being more caring and understanding and patient.

One doesn’t always have to give up a food stuff. One can try and give up anything that causes them to sin away from God… Its still giving something up

 

[Lamafacaja]

and the quote you have used, if you look at it wisely and try to do follow it all then you be definately giving something up. You be giving youself up to God in trying to be more faithful to the scripture by being more caring and understanding and patient.

One doesn’t always have to give up a food stuff. One can try and give up anything that causes them to sin away from God… Its still giving something up

Mah, chocolate is much harder.

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

Mah, chocolate is much harder.

I gave up Chocolate for Advent…which was really, really hard! I am giving up something harder for Lent.