Lenten Promises

  • Thread starter Thread starter benjoy07
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
B

benjoy07

Guest
I was told that Lenten promises are allowed to be ignored on Sundays during Lent. Is this true? Is there “official” guidelines for this, e.g. I am giving up _____ for Lent, but I can ignore that promise on Sundays. Thanks for any info.
 
I don’t think that is true. I have never heard of that being said before.
 
I didn’t even know that they were considered promises. :eek: What happens if you didn’t completely fulfill one? Like I wanted to pray a rosary a day, but sometime I get home and am so tired from work that I just fall asleep. Am I sinning or something?
 
What does one mean by “Lenten Promises”???

If one means simply ones personal commitment (basically to oneself) to give up something for Lent or to take up something…(not “promising” but simply that is ones chosen penance).

(I re-post something I posted earlier)
If I say gave up jelly beans for Lent and took up praying 50 Psalms a day standing in the cold…(yes they are not real) …and then decided to change it or say choose not to do it on Sundays or on Solemnities or heck on Tuesdays. I could do so.

For it is my freely chosen penance and prayer. Such is “voluntary”. It is not like I made a vow or something…

Now Giving up Meat on Fridays --well that I am obliged to do – outside say some dispensation or something --or unless it falls on a Solemnity. Such is different than what I freely take up.

So could I suspend my “giving up” of jelly beans on Sunday or Solemnity? Sure.

Am I suggesting one choose to do so? Well not per se. Just noting that if it was a personally chosen penance one can personally choose to change it or suspend it. Though it can be perhaps better not to.
 
Bookcat, I get your point and you’re probably right. I think self-imposed penances are for us to “supervise.”

RedDuke50, I felt the same way. But, as @Bookcat points out, I don’t think there is any official guidelines for self-imposed penances.
 
benjoy07 said:
Bookcat, I get your point and you’re probably right. I think self-imposed penances are for us to “supervise.”

RedDuke50, I felt the same way. But, as @Bookcat points out, I don’t think there is any official guidelines for self-imposed penances.
Click to expand...
Keep in mind your “Lenten promises” are to bring you closer to God. If you give up coffee and then are mean and nasty to everyone because you haven’t had your cup of morning joe, you are going about the wrong way.

If you give up soda for water, and you take the money you save and donate it to charity, that is the type of thing we are suppose to be doing. Our pastor made a point this year saying that the giving of alms and prayer are just as important as fasting. It just seems that more people talk about what they “gave up” so people hear about fasting more than the others.
 
I’ll share my view on this related to my Lenten “promise” this year. I’ve read that our Lenten promises should take us “out of our comfort zone” to help us to truly do the penance we should do and to grow closer to God. Being a smoker, not smoking is about as far out of my comfort zone as I could get. So this year I decided that I will not smoke outside of my home for the season of Lent. I am very sorry to say that I fail daily - some days worse than others, but failing nonetheless.
But here’s my view on this - I have 6 weeks to perfect this. Every day that I do better, I grow closer to God. Every day that I do worse, I grow closer to God because I pray even more asking for strength to hold out, and for forgiveness for being weak.
The key thing here is growing closer to God. That’s my focus anyway.
Prayers for me to be stronger in my promise would be much appreciated by the way. I need all the help I can get on this. I’m weak and I’m a sinner - I need, and want, to grow closer to God and holiness.
God bless all.
 
The “Sunday exemption” came about because the 40 days of Lent does not include Sundays (look at your calendar). So some people who want to follow the “letter of the law” and not the “spirit of the law” think it’s ok to cheat a little on Sunday (note that I know Lenten promises are not laws – I was just using a common phrase).

As others have said, the whole point of Lenten sacrifices is to bring you closer to God. God doesn’t need you to sacrifice things for His sake. We need to do it for our sake.
 
All Sundays are, by definition, “feast days,” not days of fast (how can you fast when the bridegroom is with you?). Which is why the exemption is made. But, as others have said, Lenten sacrifices are personal devotions to bring you closer to God, however you may formulate them.
 
At the being of Lent, I made a Promise. This promise is to be keep every day tell Lent is over, but as I was reading my Lent meditationfor the day, it told me to go back to a certain page,and it said that people think that once you break a lent promise is ruined, but no it isn,t,we will have problems trying to do it every day,but to make a good Lent journey, just get back on track,and do the Lent promise you made.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top