Lenten blog plans and assorted notes
With Ash Wednesday now here, the season of Lent begins, which Christians traditionally observe as a time of prayerful preparation for the coming resurrection of Jesus (which we celebrate at Easter), and as a season of fasting.
Of course, it’s easy to think of fasting merely as refraining from e.g. eating at certain times, or eating certain things. And to be fair, on holy days such as this, it is traditional to refrain from eating meat (some add dairy to the list as well). There’s an element of spiritual nourishment that is found in self-denial, and a kind of centering that takes place; if nothing else, it provides the inspiration for a reflection on how man does not live by bread alone, but by all that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Which is not to say that man does not need bread, of course; obviously, we must eat in order to survive. But there is a distinction between acting merely to survive and acting in order to live, as there is a difference between merely surviving and actually living. It’s not a strictly material or physical distinction — one is, in either case, alive according to the usual biological metrics — but all but the most dispassionate can recognize that the distinction exists as something palpable in the mind and in the heart, with the key difference being (I think) the absence of joy in merely surviving, and the abundance of joy that accompanies truly living.
It seems odd, perhaps, to reflect on the importance of joy on a day in which the principal message tends to be more of a reflection on the notion of humanity being dust, and being bound to return thereto, but such is the amusing paradox of Christianity; the joy of our Lord and His promise of salvation elevates us above the mere dust to which we belong. And even though we are bound, by and by, to return to the dust, we are able still to exult that we are not trapped in the dust, nor trapped by returning to it. The return is not an end, but a beginning…and that is worth celebrating.
At Mass today, most of us will hear Jesus’ warning to His disciples about how they should fast and pray, how they should not put on a grim countenance and a disfigured look, but should instead take extra care to appear well-kept and proper. That speaks to this same issue, I think.
Lent can be seen as a “sad” season, a season of severity in which fun things must be grudgingly given up. And to be fair, many people observe this seasonal fast by doing just that. Some set themselves up for failure by treating a Lenten sacrifice as a kind of “New Years Resolution,” and can usually expect to have a comparable level of success for doing so. In the past, I’ve been counseled myself to treat that which is given up as a gift I offer to God, which God repays in fruitful and plentiful ways…and to be fair, Lenten sacrifices I’ve been able to view in those ways have tended to be successful.
But there is also another way to observe a Lenten fast, and that is to not give something up, but rather to take on a new thing for the purpose of growth in spirit and faith, and to give glory to God in ways anew.
To that end, I’ve decided that I want to approach Lent with a mixture of the two approaches. I’m going to give up reading many of the blogs I peruse on a daily basis, instead reading blogs by Catholics (and a couple of select tech blogs). Likewise, I’m going to give up commenting on many of the subjects that I’ve been covering over the last while, and will instead principally focus on issues with specific Catholic implications (although I will still be doing BSG reviews, as well). I expect that the daily number of blog posts will diminish as well (Pics of the Day will, of course, continue to be posted on their regular schedule).
And in my offline life, well…my iPod Touch has a breviary application, and I think I will use that as a guide to my daily prayers and Biblical readings during the Lenten season.
Oh, yeah…I forgot to mention: when one takes on a new thing during Lent, one does well to take on a thing that one will not immediately jettison once Lent has ended.
Don’t be surprised, good reader, if the blog template changes a little bit in the next little while. A fair and fresh countenance to accompany a blogging fast is, I think, only sensible…although the changes themselves may not be all that wild, to some eyes.
Reader and commentator Daniel: your latest comment is in the moderation queue pending some research I am doing into a couple of the issues that have previously been raised. This is principally for the benefit of onlookers, as while I have no problem publishing what you have written, I would prefer to do so — for the benefit of any third parties looking on — in a way that I can then immediately respond to.
Steynian 328 « Free Canuckistan! (February 26, 2009, 7:11 am).
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