For a few years, my middle child was afraid of Ash Wednesday. He’d sit patiently through the homily, mumble along with Psalm 51 as best he could, but balk at the main event: the imposition of ashes. So he’d stay behind in the pew while his brother, sister, and whichever parent wasn’t leading worship filed…
Tag: Lent
Don’t Be a Hero! And Other Guidelines for Choosing a Lenten Discipline
How should you decide what you are going to give up—or take up—for Lent this year? Here’s my plan: I’m going to wake up an hour earlier than usual, depriving myself of sleep and devoting that hour to prayer; read meditatively through the whole New Testament, paying particular attention to living the Sermon on the…
How do Christians Fast?
Yesterday we answered the question “Why do Christians fast?” Today we’ll take a closer look at how Christians fast. Eating Less Though there was no single method St. John Cassian prescribed, he did offer “a single goal: avoid overeating and the filling of our bellies.”[1] While going long periods of time without food is a…