Annie12 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Pax! I'm starting to think about penances for lent. It seems, however, like every lent I can never settle on a good penance. SO! I have an idea that this lent I would begin a devotion to the Divine Mercy. Is this enough? Does lent require giving something up? God bless Pham! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archaeology cat Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Ah, but in beginning that devotion, are you not also giving something up? You are giving up time you would have spent otherwise occupied, for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheresaThoma Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Remember penance is not simply "giving up" something. The three elements are; prayer, fasting, and alms giving. You can fast from various things but as one of my priests once wisely said, whatever you do for Lent should make you easier to live with not harder (so therefore if you get really grumpy without coffee that is not the best thing to give up). Also what you do for Lent should help you grow spiritually. For some this may mean giving up something that they are overly attached to, or for others it might be adding something else in. Extra prayer sounds like a great idea for Lent. The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a wonderful prayer. My job/community prays it together each afternoon and I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentJoy Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 You can fast from various things but as one of my priests once wisely said, whatever you do for Lent should make you easier to live with not harder (so therefore if you get really grumpy without coffee that is not the best thing to give up). Good advice; don't be a Lenten penance for other people. :smile2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice_nine Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 I'm thinking of eshcewing tv (or at least cutting back) and deactivating my facebook during the week. The Divine Mercy Chaplet is my jam though. I give my stamp of approval. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Historian Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 You could recite the 7 penitential psalms each of the days of Lent, or spread them out with one psalm per day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice_nine Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 You could recite the 7 penitential psalms each of the days of Lent, or spread them out with one psalm per day. what are those? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotreDame Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 What other ideas do people have for lent? I've never felt like I've had good ideas for lent so I'd really like to hear some from the folks here. What I've seen so far is really cool. I do find that adding devotional "novenas" is a good forcing function to pray. The St Louis de Montfort's consecration is a good example (and I was just thinking I could schedule that for lent, though it's normally supposed to have a different cadence.) One lent I gave up red wine and another I gave up Starbucks. Those were both daily habits and giving them up for lent got rid of them completely. What else are people doing? Would love to get more ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Historian Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 what are those? The seven penitential psalms are seven psalms that express sorrow for our sins. They can be found here: http://www.fisheaters.com/7penitentialpsalms.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotreDame Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 The seven penitential psalms are seven psalms that express sorrow for our sins. They can be found here: http://www.fisheaters.com/7penitentialpsalms.html Nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneLine Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Last year I did the 'FlyLady' challenge as a healthy penance for me with my disorganized, cluttered ways. Technically it is not a 'spiritual ' thing -- but her structure has made it possible for me to incorporate regular prayer, study, scripture reading and the discipline of keeping my house clean and my life organized... it was a perfect penance and 'metanoia' for me. She also incorporates a 'give 40 bags of stuff away for Lent' into the process for those who are interested. A bunch of people on Phatmass did it with me last year; i'm open to re-visiting that if there is interest.... I want to work on adding more regular habits of prayer and quiet so God has a better chance to speak... and giving things away for the love of God ... into my Lent this year... My experience has told me that just making my self do that is a HUGE penance... and a very good thing for me.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comingback Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Last year I did the 'FlyLady' challenge as a healthy penance for me with my disorganized, cluttered ways. Technically it is not a 'spiritual ' thing -- but her structure has made it possible for me to incorporate regular prayer, study, scripture reading and the discipline of keeping my house clean and my life organized... it was a perfect penance and 'metanoia' for me. She also incorporates a 'give 40 bags of stuff away for Lent' into the process for those who are interested. A bunch of people on Phatmass did it with me last year; i'm open to re-visiting that if there is interest.... I want to work on adding more regular habits of prayer and quiet so God has a better chance to speak... and giving things away for the love of God ... into my Lent this year... My experience has told me that just making my self do that is a HUGE penance... and a very good thing for me.... I remember reading part of that thread and I did some of it with you all. That was back when I could not post. Anyhow, what struck me was what somebody said about having to do what someone else told you that day whether you wanted to or whether or not you thought it was important. So, I would be interested in actually participating if you do it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmaD2006 Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 I'm ignoring the fact that Lent is coming up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneLine Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 (edited) Well... as I said, if there is interest, I'll do it again. I will say that it ended up a much more penitential thing than I thought it would be.... and largely for EXACTLY the reason you noted, ComingHome.... the humble, obedience factor of doing what you are told simply to obey. And reflecting with God as I would do what seemed silly.... about what part of my soul was thinking I was too good to be doing this or that, or why I wanted to hang onto my own will for whatever reason.... It also is an EXCELLENT lenten penance for anyone thinking about religious life... because that's what religious life feels like often enough... just do it and trust the process is in God's hands. It would also be very easy to drop in a scripture quote or video of some flavor or some such each day to give it more of an explicit spiritual component if there was interest...... Edited February 4, 2014 by AnneLine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountrySteve21 Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 (edited) You could chant the whole Psalter everyday like the Desert Fathers did :saint: Edited February 4, 2014 by CountrySteve21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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