Lent 2010

Lent began last Wednesday. I was re-reading my post from last Ash Wednesday (here) and realized I wrote on self-denial. I was advocating that we all adopt the practice of self-denial, and arguing that it is our lack of self-control that causes so many problems in the world.

I stand by that premise. Having entered the "real world" I'm finding it easier to say than do however. I have been very fortunate- in a year where so many people have lost jobs or had to take paycuts, my income has increased and I can pretty much do whatever I like.

And it's so easy to say "It won't hurt anything if I buy this book" or "I would really like to sleep in this morning, so I will just buy lunch instead of making it." Those little things don't hurt; I can afford to do them, but that's not what matters.

I should be asking myself if I need to do them. Do I need a couple new books every week? Do I need to go out for lunch a few days a week? No I don't. But by allowing myself to have these things, I fail to exercise my spiritual muscle of self-denial.

And in recent weeks I've been oh so gently reminded that if you don't exercise that muscle with the little temptations, it's not there to support you when you are faced with the big ones.

Which brings me to the homily I heard last Sunday. It was on temptation, fitting considering the readings. Christ was fully human, as well as fully God. As a result he faced the same temptations we all do. When the devil tempted him after his fasting in the desert, Christ was tempted to succumb to them. To be fully human, he'd have to be.

But he was able to resist the temptation, in large part because he understood the importance of self-denial. He'd been exercising that muscle for the previous 40 days.

In contrast, I have not been exercising that muscle, which makes falling into sin very very very easy. But, by the grace of God, I've realized that I need to embrace self-denial. And that's what Lent is all about.

I don't like fasting and I really don't like self-denial.

But I like having a close relationship with God. And I like being in a state of grace.

And I like being able to say to the devil "Hah! Beat you this time!" (And then castigate myself for pride, but that's another story :)

So to all my readers, I wish you a joyous Lent, full of sacrifice and fasting and I pray it brings us all closer to God.

Self Denial

The Ash Wednesday homily I heard today focused on self denial (appropriate given that today marks the beginning of Lent, but that's besides the point). It got me thinking, and it ties in nicely with yesterday's post about entitlement.

I believe that Western society is very much an entitlement based society. We are also a society that very rarely denies ourselves anything (as the current state of the economy demonstrates all too well.) And I think those two things go hand in hand; I don't think we would feel entitled if we practiced some self denial. We are so used to getting everything we want, as soon as we want, and we rarely wait for anything, and I think that attitude is hurting us all.

So many problems would be avoided if we just practiced a little self denial: the credit "crisis", the obesity epidemic, the genocide of the unborn etc. All of these problems have arisen in our society because we are never told no. If we lived within our means, people wouldn't be having their homes foreclosed upon and our major corporations wouldn't be collapsing. If we said no to that piece of chocolate cake (or my own personal craving, iced tea) we wouldn't be endangering our health by overindulging. If we practiced self denial and saved sex for a committed married relationship, we wouldn't be murdering our children. There are many other examples, but I don't want to belabor the point.

Self denial is a good thing. It's not an easy thing, and I know it's something I can never accomplish without God's grace, but it is important. If we learn to practice self-denial with the little things, we will have the ability to say no to the big things, but it does take practice.

The season of Lent is a penitential one, preparing ourselves for Easter and seeking to deepen our relationship with God. My earnest prayer for us all is that we will practice self-denial in some way this Lenten season, and use that self denial to allow God to move deeper into our lives, because that's the only way the major problems of our world will be solved.

Welcome to Lent, and God Bless.