Without denigrating fasting and giving things up for Lent, I personally tend more to positive actions: being more intentional about my prayer, scripture study, and lectio… Giving things up can mean more money to give away, or more time to devote to…
40acts – do Lent generously – provides 40 challenges that can be done together. Or alone. Day 1 was start a journal (something I highly recommend). Day 2 was create a generosity jar (there’s a real buzz in being able to be generous to a worthy cause, partnering with positive activities in the local or overseas community…).
Do Lent Generously is a movement of 40 days of giving back, doing good, and living generously.
You can join the 40acts do Lent generously (kudos to its quality website, with its associated facebook page, twitter profile, etc!), or your community could create its own challenges and communicate these on your community’s website, or you could set yourself challenges you think are more appropriate for yourself… Add ideas in the comments below.
Afterthought: I regularly come across individuals (and sometimes communities) who are reinventing the liturgical wheel. On the one hand this affirms that a lot of our liturgical traditions are natural developments. On the other it highlights that we who take these inherited spiritual disciplines and practices for granted are often very lax in communicating these to others who would be so thrilled to know more… Christian author Lyn Smith recently announced that she is taking a month from March to April to grow more deeply into her relationship with God. Referencing Moses’ forty days and forty nights up on Mount Sinai to meet with God, she says, “So I’m unplugging from most of my online stuff for the next few weeks as well as changing some other things.” The rest of us, of course, immediately leap to the idea of Lent…
“Without denigrating fasting and giving things up for Lent, I personally tend more to positive actions…”
And just how are fasting and giving things up less positive than other actions? (In fact, fasting can free up money and time spent on cooking to do Lent generously and pay more attention to others — both God and neighbor.)
If anything, in our modern, industrialized, overweight, high-cholesterol, hypertension, fast-food, consumerist, throw-away culture, a little fasting would be a positive and healthy thing!
Yes, Gregory. If you can think of a better word than “positive” to distinguish giving up from taking on, let’s use that. You are affirming my point: “Giving things up can mean more money to give away, or more time to devote to…” Blessings.
Just a quick few that you can do to make someone’s day a little easier and better: 1. Offer to work an extra shift to help out with the overloaded work week. 2. Volunteer to cover a co-worker’s breaks for a day without being asked or cajoled. 3. Share your food stash by placing it in a drawer where everyone can get to it. 4. Refrain from all gossip and backbiting for a week. 5. Compliment and praise your family, friends and co-workers and see how it comes back to you. 6. Leave a love note on your son’s pillow.