Lenten sacrifice

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Many Christians choose to practice teetotalism during Lent, thus giving up alcoholic beverages during the liturgical season. Tempranillowine.jpg
Many Christians choose to practice teetotalism during Lent, thus giving up alcoholic beverages during the liturgical season.

A Lenten sacrifice is a spiritual practice where Christians, particularly Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, Moravians and the United Protestants voluntarily renounce a pleasure or luxury during the observance of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday. [3] [4] The tradition of Lent has its roots in Jesus Christ praying and fasting for forty days in the desert according to the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. When Lent is over and Easter Sunday arrives, the faithful are able to indulge in what they sacrificed during the Lenten season. [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Christian denominations often set certain requirements for the practice of fasting, such as those found in Pope Paul VI's apostolic constitution Paenitemini in the Catholic Church and the Book of Common Prayer in Anglicanism, for example. In addition to observing special laws regarding fasting, other forms of asceticism and penance are also recommended. The faithful are encouraged to practice prayer more intensively and to take part more in church services and devotions (e.g. the Way of the Cross). Likewise, they should do more works of mercy and give alms. [8] [9] Such a penance or a good work, like a tangible financial donation given as an offering during Lent, is called a Lenten sacrifice.

Common Lenten sacrifices include abstaining from pleasures such as chocolate, sugar, sweets, alcohol, or soda. [10] [6] Some Christians choose to practice temperance throughout the Lenten season, thus giving up alcoholic beverages; [11] [12] [13] in light of this, temperance drinks experience a surge of popularity during the Lenten season. [14] Others, on the first day of Lent, pledge to give up sinful behaviours, such as using profanity, and hope to permanently rid themselves of these habits even after the arrival of Eastertide.[ citation needed ] While making a Lenten sacrifice, it is customary for Christians to pray for strength to keep it; many often wish others for doing so as well, e.g. "May God bless your Lenten sacrifice." [15] [16]

Many Christians sacrifice the eating of meat and commit to vegetarianism for the entire Lenten season. [17] [18] It is commonplace for many Christians (especially Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, and Methodists) to observe the Friday Fast throughout Lent, which includes abstaining from meat on the Fridays of Lent. [19] [20] [21]

Some Christian clergy, both Roman Catholic and Methodist, have encouraged the faithful not to give up social media for Lent as they believe that Christians can use social media for evangelism. [22] [23] [24]

In addition to making their Lenten sacrifice, many Christians choose to add a Lenten spiritual discipline, such as reading a daily devotional or praying through a Lenten calendar, to draw themselves nearer to God. [25] [26]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liturgical year</span> Annually recurring fixed sequence of Christian feast days

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Friday</span> Christian religious holiday

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shrove Tuesday</span> Tuesday before Ash Wednesday

Shrove Tuesday is the final day of Shrovetide, marking the end of pre-Lent. Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is observed in many Christian countries through participating in confession; the ritual burning of the previous year's Holy Week palms; finalizing one's Lenten sacrifice; as well as eating pancakes and other sweets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ash Wednesday</span> First day of Lent in Western Christianity

Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent, the six weeks of penitence before Easter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Week</span> Calendar date

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Christian vegetarianism is the practice of keeping to a vegetarian lifestyle for reasons connected to or derived from the Christian faith. The three primary reasons are spiritual, nutritional, and ethical. The ethical reasons may include a concern for God's creation, a concern for animal rights and welfare, or both. Likewise, Christian veganism is not using any animal products for reasons connected to or derived from the Christian faith. Pescatarianism was widespread in the early Church, among both the clergy and laity. Among the early Judeo-Christian Gnostics the Ebionites held that John the Baptist, James the Just and Jesus were vegetarians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friday fast</span> Christian practice of abstaining from meat, lacticinia and alcohol on Fridays

The Friday fast is a Christian practice of variously abstaining from meat, dairy products and alcohol, on Fridays, or holding a fast on Fridays, that is found most frequently in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist traditions. The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, written in the first century A.D., directed Christians to fast on both Wednesdays and Fridays. The Wednesday fast is done in remembrance of the story of the betrayal of Christ by Judas on Spy Wednesday, while the Friday fast is done in commemoration of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. As such, all Fridays of the year have been historically kept in many parts of Christendom as a day of strict fasting and abstinence from alcohol, meat and lacticinia. Abstinence from meat on Fridays is done as a sacrifice by many Christians because they believe that on Good Friday, Jesus sacrificed his flesh for humanity. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, in addition to fasting from food until sundown, the faithful are enjoined to abstain from sexual relations on Fridays as well.

A spiritual practice or spiritual discipline is the regular or full-time performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of inducing spiritual experiences and cultivating spiritual development. A common metaphor used in the spiritual traditions of the world's great religions is that of walking a path. Therefore, a spiritual practice moves a person along a path towards a goal. The goal is variously referred to as salvation, liberation or union. A person who walks such a path is sometimes referred to as a wayfarer or a pilgrim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fasting and abstinence in the Catholic Church</span>

The Catholic Church historically observes the disciplines of fasting and abstinence at various times each year. For Catholics, fasting is the reduction of one's intake of food, while abstinence refers to refraining from something that is good, and not inherently sinful, such as meat. The Catholic Church teaches that all people are obliged by God to perform some penance for their sins, and that these acts of penance are both personal and corporeal. Bodily fasting is meaningless unless it is joined with a spiritual avoidance of sin. Basil of Caesarea gives the following exhortation regarding fasting:

Let us fast an acceptable and very pleasing fast to the Lord. True fast is the estrangement from evil, temperance of tongue, abstinence from anger, separation from desires, slander, falsehood and perjury. Privation of these is true fasting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Fast</span> Ancient form of Christian fasting

A Black Fast, also known as a strict fast, is a form of early Christian fasting. Those undertaking a Black Fast consume no food or water during the day and then break the fast after sunset with prayer, as well as water and a vegetarian meal devoid of meat, eggs, dairy products (lacticinia), and alcohol. Christians normatively fasted in this way during Lent prior to the 6th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easter basket</span> Traditional basket used at Easter

An Easter basket, also known as a Paschal basket, is a basket used during the Christian Easter season. In different times and places across the various Christian branches, Easter baskets have served different purposes. For adults, Easter baskets may have deep religious significance and be blessed by a priest. In modern times, the baskets may be filled with food or toys and presented to children as gifts. They are also used by children to gather hidden eggs during egg hunts.

Abstinence is the practice of self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, but it can also mean abstinence from alcohol, drugs, food, or other comforts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lent</span> Annual pre-Easter Christian observance

Lent is the solemn Christian religious observance in the liturgical year commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, before beginning his public ministry. Lent is usually observed in the Catholic, Lutheran, Moravian, Anglican, United Protestant and Orthodox Christian traditions, among others. Some Anabaptist, Baptist, Methodist, Reformed, and nondenominational Christian churches also observe Lent, although many churches in these traditions do not.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Fast</span> Partial fast in Christianity

The Daniel Fast, in Christianity, is a partial fast, in which meat, dairy, alcohol, and other rich foods are avoided in favor of vegetables and water in order to be more sensitive to God. The fast is based on the lifelong kosher diet of the Jewish prophet Daniel in the biblical Book of Daniel and the three-week mourning fast in which Daniel abstained from all meat and wine. Among Catholic and Mainline Protestant Christians, the Daniel Fast has been practiced by some during the 40-day season of Lent, though the Daniel Fast can variously be set at three weeks, or even ten days. As such, evangelical Christian churches such as those of the Baptist tradition, have partaken in the fast at various times of the year. The passage in Chapter 1 refers to a 10-day test wherein Daniel and others with him were permitted to eat vegetables and water to avoid the Babylonian king's food and wine. After remaining healthy at the end of the 10-day period, they continued the vegetable diet for the three years of their education. The passage in Chapter 10 refers to a three-week fast of no meat, wine, or rich food. In addition to the practices of fasting and abstinence undertaken during the Daniel Fast, Christians may also add spiritual disciplines such as daily church attendance, increased prayer, as well as the reading of Sacred Scripture and a daily devotional.

Christian dietary laws vary between denominations. The general dietary restrictions specified for Christians in the New Testament are to "abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals". Some Christian denominations forbid certain foods during periods of fasting, which in some cases may cover half the year and may exclude meat, fish, dairy products, and olive oil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teetotalism</span> Abstinence from the consumption of alcohol

Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or is simply said to be teetotal. Globally, almost half of adults do not drink alcohol. A number of temperance organisations have been founded in order to promote teetotalism and provide spaces for non-drinkers to socialise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lenten supper</span> Christian meal

A Lenten supper is a meal that takes place in the evenings to break the day's fast during the Christian liturgical season of Lent, which is widely observed by members of the Catholic, Lutheran, Moravian, Anglican, Methodist, and United Protestant traditions, in addition to certain Reformed denominations.

Fasting is practiced in various religions. Examples include Lent in Christianity and Yom Kippur, Tisha B'av, Fast of Esther, Fast of Gedalia, the Seventeenth of Tammuz, and the Tenth of Tevet in Judaism. Muslims fast during the month of Ramadan each year. The fast includes refraining from consuming any food or liquid from sunup until sundown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shrovetide</span> Liturgical period

Shrovetide is the Christian liturgical period prior to the start of Lent that begins on Shrove Saturday and ends at the close of Shrove Tuesday. The season focuses on examination of conscience and repentance before the Lenten fast. It includes Shrove Saturday, Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday and Shrove Tuesday.

References

  1. ↑ McCleskey, Clayton (24 March 2011). "Methodists Shun The Bottle During Alcohol-Free Lent". The Huffington Post . Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  2. ↑ McDuff, Mallory (4 April 2013). "After Giving up Alcohol, I'm Addicted to Lent". Sojourners . Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  3. ↑ Hines-Brigger, Susan. "Lent: More Than Just Giving Up Something". Franciscan Media. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  4. ↑ "Lent" (PDF). Lutheran Church of Our Saviour. 2022. p. 15. Retrieved 1 March 2022. In Lent, many Christians commit to fasting, as well as giving up certain luxuries in imitation of Jesus Christ's sacrifice during his journey into the desert for 40 days; this is known as one's Lenten sacrifice.
  5. ↑ Stubbs, Thomas (26 February 2022). "Forum on Faith: Lent: A time for 'making sure'". NewsTimes. Retrieved 2 March 2022. I knew part of the answer involved a tradition where everybody had to "give up" something from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday.
  6. 1 2 Mortimer, Caroline (10 February 2016). "The top 10 things most people will (try) to give up for Lent". The Independent . Retrieved 17 March 2019. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent - the festival where people give up a guilty pleasure for 40 days until Easter Sunday. Lent marks the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert.
  7. ↑ Babauta, Chloe B. (15 April 2017). "Catholics reflect on their Lenten sacrifices". Pacific Daily News . Retrieved 1 March 2022. Giving something up is a practice to purify us and prepare us for the celebration of Easter Sunday, so it's a way for us to connect and understand more about Christ and God.
  8. ↑ "Giving 'alms,' and other acts of charity, during Lent". Catholic Philly. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  9. ↑ Reumann, Amy (10 February 2016). "Lent Out Loud: Ash Wednesday". Evangelical Lutheran Church in America . Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  10. ↑ Marina Watts, Why Do People Make Sacrifices During Lent?, https://www.newsweek.com/why-do-people-make-sacrifices-during-lent-1569609
  11. ↑ Bryant, Tony (25 February 2022). "Pancake Day: a typically British tradition". Diario Sur . Retrieved 1 March 2022. some Christians choose to practice temperance – refraining from drinking alcohol - throughout the Lenten season.
  12. ↑ "Drink less this Lent". Pioneer Total Abstinence Association. 22 February 2009. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  13. ↑ Gilbert, Kathy L. (21 February 2012). "Could you go alcohol-free for Lent?". United Methodist News Service. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  14. ↑ Hardy, Rebecca (11 February 2016). "Alcohol-free: why temperance drinks are making a comeback". The Guardian . Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  15. ↑ "What is Shrove Tuesday ? Meaning, Traditions, and 2021 Date". Christianity.com . Retrieved 16 February 2021. While undergoing a Lenten sacrifice, it is helpful to pray for strength ; and encouraging fellow Christians in their fast saying, for example: "May God bless your Lenten sacrifice."
  16. ↑ "Prayer for Lenten Sacrifice". Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield–Cape Girardeau . Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  17. ↑ Freston, Kathy (5 September 2013). "God, Christianity and Meat". Huffington Post. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  18. ↑ "Veg for Lent". Christian Vegetarian Association. 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  19. ↑ Crowther, Jonathan (1815). A Portraiture of Methodism: Or, The History of the Wesleyan Methodists. T. Blanshard. pp. 251, 257.
  20. ↑ Weitzel, Thomas L. (1978). "A Handbook for the Discipline of Lent" (PDF). Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  21. ↑ John Wesley (1825). The Sunday Service of the Methodists . J. Kershaw. p. 145. Days of Fasting or Abstinence All the Fridays in the Year, except Christmas-Day
  22. ↑ Olivia, John (18 February 2019). "Please Don't Give Up Social Media For Lent". Busted Halo. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  23. ↑ Smith, Jeremy (19 February 2015). "Would a Missionary Give Up Swahili for Lent?". UM Insight. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  24. ↑ Schiffer, Kathy (1 March 2017). "Giving Up Facebook for Lent? Please Reconsider…". National Catholic Register . Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  25. ↑ Crumm, David. Our Lent, 2nd Edition. ISBN   1934879509.
  26. ↑ Ambrose, Gill; Craig-Wild, Peter; Craven, Diane; Moger, Peter (5 March 2007). Together for a Season. Church House Publishing. p. 34. ISBN   9780715140635.
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