LENT 2019 THREAD: The Journey to Easter Sunday

Catholic means universal, so if you believe you should then in our opinion you should.

I fell away from faith, and I've been considering coming back. Lately it seems I see the world differently and I keep thinking about God. I feel like I betrayed my church by leaving though and stopped talking to everyone. I have guilt and feel ashamed of coming back becayse of pride. All this are even more reason to go, but all this pride (petty as it might be) stops me. My wife was pretty happy I left too and going back would mean she'd also look down on me.

Now I know all this shouldn't stop me, I'm just venting a bit. Would it be inappropriate for me to come back to church for lent?

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Dedicate your lent to breaking down your pride. That's literally the point of lent, to prepare yourself for easter.

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not heed them. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. - John 10:7-9

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How are you guys, doing strong?
I've done only a stout breakfast, and I intend to keep going until late mass when I receive the ash and the Eucharist. And only after then, I will cook some steamed cabbage for dinner.
I have to say, I don't think I've ever fasted for long, and I'm kind feeling good about it, I get what people say about the mind getting clearer as your intent grows stronger, this is a strong practice for self control.

However this morning I already started to get plagued by lewds thoughts, followed with the desire to see porn, luckily the quick binge around these forums led me nowhere, but I still am feeling the draw from my addiction, the biggest enemies I intend to fight this lent. It is true though, fasting and praying helps a lot in these matters.

As the other user said, its more symbolic and personal than anything. So I take it as a personal challenge, and each should fast the way he think is best off, for most regular days I intend just to hold a very strict diet, and that means eating meat at lunch but being strict with everything regardless.
In fact I'm still curious where in the bible it mentions about Christ retreating to desert while fasting for 40 days (at least that was my impression from what I read somewhere), I want to read it as well and today in my sleep, I even thought about going for a fast while spending the night atop of a mount, while praying and meditating by myself. Should be an interesting thing if I pull it off.

Should you exercise during lent? I'm not sure how it's possible when you're fasting every day. I'm good with sacrificing physical gains for spiritual gains but I'm curious if anyone tries and succeeds in staying fit+healthy during this part of the year

If you feel the need to.

Ok so I know what the minimum is for western catholic lent. But what's the maximum I can do to really get the most out of it? No memes please

I am currently doing RCIA as a catechumen. I work 12 hour shifts, have a 4 year old son, and an atheist wife. I understand the struggle, although I'm not saying mine is equal to yours.

Try to think of your struggle as a penance, and seek to bear it without complaint or bitterness. Remember our Lord suffered for your redemption, he carried his own cross to Calvary, and he did it without complaining. In fact he had pity on the crowd. As he lie up on the cross, he called out to God the Father to have mercy on those crucifying him.

Keep in mind that in the early church often Bishops would require grave sinners to do penance, sometimes for years, before accepting them in baptism. I don't believe this is the right approach, but it is fitting that you should struggle and suffer as you seek to unite yourself to the death and resurrection of our Lord.

You're on the right track.

Traditionally no meat, dairy, or eggs were consumed. The egg abstinence requirement was dropped some time in the 1700's I believe. The orthodox, and eastern rite Catholics still give up eggs.

Giving up meat (flesh) is most fitting as it reflects Jesus giving up his flesh. Tat said in giving up eggs too!

It's so hard. It's like everyone gets pelted during this time, which shouldn't come as a surprise. All my friends can feel it. I'm not going to make it until Easter. I need prayers.

I'm strongly considering giving up fish instead of meat next year.
I don't like meat as much as fish and it's also less expensive these days.

Got your back fam.
I myself am noticing that my body gets a little shaky towards the evening because I still have to get used to my lowered sugar intake.
I got enough body fat so no worries about collapsing anytime soon but dang fast sugars are easier.

Thanks man. I think we all too often get lost in the legality of the ascetic practices of Lent, it's mostly about self-denial, but i don't want to misinterpret the entire reason we do this. Of course you should research such a thing before you make a decision, but that's just my thoughts on it. If you're not already, you should pray the Divine Mercy chaplet for your health concerns. Coming from a number of addictions, withdrawals are a pain, even if it's something as simple as sugars.

God bless you all

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Bump

Calm down sir, its going to be a long 40 days.

If you want something to talk, answer what I asked here:
I'm still going through with my plan for a retreat this night, quite unsure though, specially what my mothers reaction is going to be (she is the one with the house new the mount, so it will be my last stop before going on foot).
Already planned for a few things, like a fire and possible light source for the night, thinking of really just taking a sheet over to cover me from wind and cold (likely wont be a problem), and carrying lots of water only. One big problem I'm thinking of, is being hard to find firewood up there, which means I should attempt to bring some over from their house, which surely will increase difficulty.
Either way, pray for me and with me, so that I can pull it off without any major issue, so that I may come down in safety tomorrow, and so that I may find the answer I seek with prayer.

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Dont forget daily Rosary, Holy Mass, Confession and The Eucharist!

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Did I commit a sin? To be completely honest she said it's my choice whether to eat or not to eat those pieces of cake, so I could have chosen to not eat them. Tell it to me 100% straight.

I don't know the answer but I remember what foulton sheen said was he didn't eat chicken but if someone invited him over and made chicken for dinner he would eat it because it's polite and God commands him to love the host and the generous dinner that was made for him.

How have you brothers been going? Strong for lent I hope.
Now in the final run I'm finding it harder and harder, I've been falling by the waste side, very lazy and demotivated, lacking in reading, indulging in pornography, and what's worse, I've taken back to the habit of rolling tobacco, thinking as if I should have at least one addiction, this would be the best one. Its gotten me sick ever since, and just feeling worst to be honest.
I'm also feeling weak and lazy, stopped working out, even though refraining from masturbation has been easy, getting rid of the lewd thoughts hasn't.
Share your struggle too brothers, along with any advice, its always helpful.

This. Shit's tough.

Am I even allowed in this thread? It seems to be mostly Catholics.

Last year I followed the fast strictly, but as a result I felt some pride in doing so. This year I am not following the fast very well at all (even took a day to eat meat, fish, and cheese because I felt I was having a bad carency) but I'm also doing my best to follow it without worsening my medical problems. I feel like this year's fast is better than last year's, for this reason (and I might actually be able to go through Holy Week this time).

I got the pride problem with fasting too. Brought it up at confession and will be making sure next year is planned better. I've lost like 20 pounds and I'm just skin and bones now

at Pascha in the Coptic Church, we do 400 prostrations in a row all the way down on our face. It is extremely strenuous but oh so humbling. I look forward to my first Pascha in an actual Coptic Church this year.

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Lent is not about cutting something out of your diet specifically, is about cutting out your luxuries and comforts, in order to remember your faith and purpose without distractions. Its a time of penance and abdication, that's why the church calls it a time of conversion (even for old time followers).
Lukewarm Catholics think it's about cutting something off our holding on to a promise for some sort of reward, but the church is pretty clear on that sense.

Being prideful is bad, but there is nothing wrong with being happy about a successful fasting. I've lost a few kilos as well, but not as much as I would hope, the chubby belly is still hanging, so I'm worried about losing too much muscle mass, on the other hand, the lack of fat had really been taking a toll on my knees.

Makes sense

Retard tier.

How do you expect people to strictly follow the rules of fasting if they can't even get their minimum necessary nutrients for their organism?

Having said that, i've been doing ok so far because i replaced the protein and nutrients from meat, fish, dairy and eggs with vegetables, various nuts/seeds and fruits.

But i find it absolutely nonsensical to claim you need to cut out luxury from your diet for the purpose of lent. Are olives and crisps really considered a luxury nowadays? I've asked a dozen of orthodox priests from different parishes and the answers were very vague and fluid but along the lines of "Do it as best as you can with the best you have". So with no clear cut rules in mind, better incorporate at least some form of healthy fats in your diet

t. Orthodox

So basically you're Muslims? Go pick up a KJV buddy and actually read the Bible.

So basically you're a bible-idolater? Go pick up a history book and actually learn something.

Aw man, this is my first Lent(since I’m converting), and I just gave up 4chan because it’s a bad influence on me, and I’ve been eating pretty normally except Ash Wednesday and not eating meat on fridays, reading this thread makes me feel like a wuss. Are the guys posting about more extreme fasts more experienced in Lent and fasting in general? It’s funny because my NO deacon and priest are both fairly dismissive of the more demanding aspects and always stress the minimum requirements, I’m not saying they are bad guys, I’m just wondering if they want me to go easy on my first Lent.

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Daily reminder

I’d go back to church if I were you

Here's a question about fasting during Lent - what if you were already eating very little? I've engaged in some serious portion control (along with cutting out pasta, rice, potato and bread) and lost 23kgs in 9 months. I was already basically on two small and one medium meals a day…but that's what you cut to for fasting. Do I need to cut from that, or does it already count?

You are more suited to be a monk than many on this board

Well, it's all about return to Christ, not abstentions for proving how tough you are. Quitting 4chan was the right move for you imho based on what you've said.

I did a lot of cutting things out this lent and tbh of all the things I did reject, the only thing that stuck was not drinking alcohol. Of course I learned from my attempts at other things, but I still know I went several bridges too far.

Getting rid of alcohol was such an excellent grace to receive, but as for the rest of it which included video games, I know I have a computer addiction now, and that is something that I cannot fix at the moment. The computer is too ingrained in my life, and too essential for work.

aaaaaargh I have to go to confession and then keep the good work up. This is literally the most difficult time of the year. The devil is the most active. I was in library today, studying and I was aroused by thoughts about my ex. This has not happened for such a long time. There was no end to it until I prayed.
I just hope I can keep it up afterwards. There is less time to go to confession again and I want to have this clear throughout the easter.

Makes sense, I had one of my hardest times yesterday as well, just woke up thinking of sex, got up and nearly started fapping while peeing, afterwards like pure trash almost all the rest of the day, and also kept thinking how I would relapse soon after lent. really messed up, luckily, I woke up in a better mood today.

based black man