Lent...give up or take up?

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kayla

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Hello my friends in Christ,
Just wonerding if you will give up something for Lent or take up something?
It’s so diffucult for me to give up (other than fasting)…each year I try to give up things, but after a couple of weeks I began to slip…so this year I have decided to take up by going to Mass more often, praying the Chapet of Divine Mercy, and spend more time in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
Have a wonderful Lent and may God Bless you all!😃
 
kayla said:
Hello my friends in Christ,
Just wonerding if you will give up something for Lent or take up something?
It’s so diffucult for me to give up (other than fasting)…each year I try to give up things, but after a couple of weeks I began to slip…so this year I have decided to take up by going to Mass more often, praying the Chapet of Divine Mercy, and spend more time in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
Have a wonderful Lent and may God Bless you all!😃
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There is nothing wrong at all about “taking something up” while practicing the fasts and abstaning from meat on Friday. For me, as I did last year, I’ll be giving up smoking, alcohol, and will be taking up saying the rosary more often and reading the Bible. God bless.
 
I do not say the rosary regularily. For Lent I intend to target every day. Given that I’d love to drop 10-20 lbs I feel that given up any type foods (other then the fasting and abstance that is required) would be self-serving.
 
I had a plan, the Holy Spirit however has another plan. I will be on a clear liquid diet for another week, slowly begin adding bland foods hopefully by Easter the biggest treat in my basket will be a vegetable or piece of chicken. I will be delegating various parish responsibilities to 4 great volunteers who have just appeared out of no where (thanks, Holy Spirit) and to our catechists and coordinators, reducing hours as much as possible. Evidently a wiser mind than mine has decided to whup me yup side the head with a celestial baseball bat so I reorder priorities, pay attention to my prayer life, destress, and take care of my health. got the first of a week-long series of injections of vitamins, antibiotics and B12, complete change of all diabetes and other meds, complete change in diet (obviously since I have been sick as a dog for a week). those of you who plan to do more praying, please add me to your list.
 
I plan on praying the Rosary every day and attending at least one weekday mass per week (along with the standard fasting/penance). My focus this year is to grow closer to Christ and improve my prayer life. I found that giving up my coffee/candy/etc. just wasn’t doing anything for me spiritually…so I’m trying something new this year.
 
I’m taking up - trying to attend daily Mass or if not - then time at Eucharistic Adoration. But I am also giving up - my time, which I am quite short of, which is stressful.

But I think in return I will also “get back” from my taking up/giving up, although I’m not sure exactly what.
 
Add me to the list of take-ups. Spending more time in prayer, spiritual reading and extra masses when I can. Anything to get rid of patterns of behaviour that can lead to sin and getting closer to Christ.
 
kayla said:
Hello my friends in Christ,
Just wonerding if you will give up something for Lent or take up something?
It’s so diffucult for me to give up (other than fasting)…each year I try to give up things, but after a couple of weeks I began to slip…so this year I have decided to take up by going to Mass more often, praying the Chapet of Divine Mercy, and spend more time in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
Have a wonderful Lent and may God Bless you all!😃
Click to expand...
Going to mass as often as you could - that will be really great not only for you but also for those whom you are praying for. I am trying to go to daily mass as often as I could too.
 
Both. I’m giving up chocolate and sodas. Taking up trying to make healthier choices, saying a decade of the rosary with my kids daily, and Stations of the Cross on Fridays. Since I’m among those who would love to lose a few pounds, I am trying to figure out a way to make sure my sacrifices are for God’s glory and not my own benefit.

Two years ago, I took up attending daily Mass 3x a week. It was(is) truly a blessing, and something I have not been able to let go of. So I continue to do that as often as my circumstances allow.
 
my list:
  1. I will be nice or at least polite to a co-worker whom I dislike for the last 5 years.
  2. I will literally bite my tounge before/after I say something irritatible to some one
  3. I will say sorry immediately if I make some one mad
  4. I will smile to every one I meet, strangers included
  5. Be a Christian (with the grace and help of the Holy Spirit)
pray for me.

Tak
 
My list of things for Lent:

1 Pray a rosary every day
2 Have a Christian attitude towards a roomate of mine that I simply can’t stand(he completely disrespectful, ignorant, I’ll spare the list of reasons and stop now:mad: ) This ones gonna be very hard
3 Trying to stick to the traditional lenten fasting and abstaining. Which means no meat.
4 Lots of work on creating a deeper and more meaningful prayer life
5 Working more on discerning what God wants for me
 
water said:
Going to mass as often as you could - that will be really great not only for you but also for those whom you are praying for. I am trying to go to daily mass as often as I could too.
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Unfortunately, I am not being all that successful with Mass or Adoration. 😦
 
I actually had a conversation about this very subject with my deacon a few years ago. He is not only a very holy man but also has a few IQ points on my IQ of 138.

Anyhoo, I was talking to him about what I should give up for Lent that year (relevant since Lent comes so close on the heels of the Christmas season this year) and he came out as an advocate of adding something (usually in the form of prayer or charity) as opposed to giving something up (sweets, red meat, whatever).

I’ve actually taken up the practice of both giving up ( some indulgent but not necessarily sinful habit) and adding (prayer, an akathist or holy hour) but if I had to take the choice, I think I would go with my deacon on taking the extra effort of adding something, in terms of prayer or charity, as opposed to giving something up, which I have found actually takes less effort than adding something.

BTW, I love my deacon. He has a rare knack for giving someone (me) a verbal smackdown in a needed, but loving way that makes you think about how to live a more Christian life. He has sent me running, tail tucked between my legs, more than once, but once I had time to abosorb what he had said to me, he gave me a fresh perspective. I wish there were more priests like my deacon, who were not afraid to tell someone that they were wrong, but in such a way that they would realize that they needed to re-evaluate their thinking and bring them closer to the truth.
 
kayla said:
Hello my friends in Christ,
Just wonerding if you will give up something for Lent or take up something?
It’s so diffucult for me to give up (other than fasting)…each year I try to give up things, but after a couple of weeks I began to slip…so this year I have decided to take up by going to Mass more often, praying the Chapet of Divine Mercy, and spend more time in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
Have a wonderful Lent and may God Bless you all!😃
Click to expand...
After a checkup with my Physician, to get her OK, I will do the traditional Lent fasten. You can look at it both ways…
  1. I am “giving up” three square meals a day
  2. I am “taking up” a fast for traditional reasons
I doubt if I will do more then this, that would depend on my Spiritual Director. He may give me some ideas, or squash my tendency to overdo things, even fasting and mortifications.
 
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