Lent ain't what it used to be

Back when I was a child, attending Catholic school, the Franciscan sisters who served as our teachers presented Lent in a rather harsh manner. We were, basically, forced to “give up” something for those 40 days prior to the Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday – a way to reinforce the splendor of Easter Sunday.

I remember trying, really hard, to give up chocolate. But, even then, I realized I was addicted to that most delicious of sweets (in my book, anyway). About the time my parents would be stocking up on goodies for our Easter baskets, I’d be hunting through the house for them, and biting the heads off the hollow rabbits well before the colorful, “grass” filled baskets were hidden for my brother and I to find when we awoke on Easter morning.

So, after a few years of trying and failing – and having to report those failures to the entire class at school – I decided to focus on something else.

As I recall, the only “successful” Lent I had as a kid was when I was in seventh grade. My mother had been hounding me about not crackling my knuckles which, as a piano player, I did a lot. She warned me such a practice would cause arthritis when I was older (not that it’s true). I decided to give up cracking my knuckles that Lent, and have not done so ever since!

With the passing of years, fortunately, the teachers in Catholic schools, and the Church as a whole, has transformed its viewpoint on Lent. While giving up bad habits – like smoking, alcohol, or spending too much time staring at a computer or cell phone screen – are still laudable, the emphasis has shifted to more positive activities.

Fasting, almsgiving and good works are the go-to concepts these days. There are many kinds of fasts beyond just limiting food, to be sure. Fasting from watching television is one idea. Fasting from gossiping is another. Basically, think of anything that might be done to excess, and cut back.

Almsgiving is a necessity as we look at a world plagued by crisis and poverty. We may be lucky enough to give from our abundance, but can we give until it hurts? Can we give of our time, a valued commodity, when others ask for our assistance with a worthy cause, or even running an errand or mowing the grass for an elderly neighbor?

That’s sort of where almsgiving and good works overlap, and there’s nothing wrong with that. In the latter category, perhaps: maybe we can be a voice for those who are denied the right to speak, or exiled to the margins of society for so many arbitrary reasons. We can stand with those seeking justice, welcome the stranger, feed the hungry.

The ways to observe Lent, over the past few decades, have become quite creative. That, in itself, is a sign of spiritual growth – which is what the season is really about: growing closer to Jesus, who became fully human, walked among us and understood us, and asked us to become like him in loving and respecting others as we love God.