A journaling approach to Lent that helps us to maintian our pattern of fasting, praying and almsgiving.
We are now past the First Sunday of Lent. Have you managed to maintain your Lenten observances so far or are you straying.
Here’s an approach that my friend Charlie Deist uses to help him to follow his chosen pattern of eating in Lent. He has developed a journaling technique that allows him to maintain a focus on his chosen pattern of fasting and abstinence. What I like about this is the reference to the traditional approach of selective abstinence, but also a monitoring of the pattern that can then intensify or relax, as you judge is necessary in reponse to his progress. He also, in accord with traditiona, allows for varying levels during the course of the week, with the strictest on Wednesdays and Fridays of course.
Charlie is interested in nutrition so he is aware also of how certain patterns of eating can be harmonized with health requirements - not that Lenten obervancs are done primarily for physical health, but rather so that as as far as possible a pattern of abstinece. Each person can adapt this to their own spiritual and physical requirements.
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I think this can help to avoid the all-or-nothing approach whereby we start off with high ideals and then when we fail, we give up altogether. This says at each point we can resolve to continue, or perhps, judiciously of course, amend what we are trying to do. This can go in either direct, we can get stricter as Lent goes on as well relax a bit if we find that our goals were too ambitious.
As the old joke goes…did you ever get half way through eating a horse and then think, ‘I’m not as hungry as I thought I was.’
The Ecstasy of St Benedict in the Desert by Fra Angelico.
