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WILKES-BARRE — Walking out of the King’s College chapel after the Ash Wednesday service, everyone attending had the option of taking a “Lenten fortune cookie.”
We were told that a suggestion would be on each, should we be looking for ideas to abstain from something for the next 40 days.
Most of us took one and anxiously opened it to see what was inside.
A young woman in front of me opened hers and her shoulders dropped. I heard her say, “Oh, I can’t do that.” Her friend asked her what she got and the young woman replied, “Alcohol.” Her friend agreed that this would be difficult, if not impossible.
The disappointment on her face was obvious. She was struggling with a decision to either be a good Catholic and accept the suggestion that she abstain from alcohol, or toss it back in the basket to preserve her right to party on for the next 40 days and beyond.
But this process got me thinking. My suggestion was to abstain from desserts. This was somewhat prophetic, in that I had already decided that I would give this a shot. So when I opened my Lenten fortune cookie, I felt that God, indeed, had sent me a message.
And within 24 hours, my Lenten vow was severely tested. A couple of weeks ago, a co-worker was selling Krispy Kreme donuts for his daughter’s school fundraising project. I purchased two dozen to be shared with my colleagues.
The donuts arrived Thursday morning.
I announced that Krispy Kreme donuts — arguably the best tasting donuts in the universe — were available to anyone who wanted one or two or more. At the end of the day, the 24 donuts were gone and I had not eaten any.
That was quite an accomplishment for me. I usually have zero willpower when it comes to sweets. I was darned proud that I refrained from those Krispy Kremes.
So if I could fast on desserts for 40 days, why couldn’t other people fast on something they crave as well — like alcohol, maybe?
This Lenten fortune cookie idea fascinated me, so I asked the King’s College Campus Ministry Department to share what some of the other “suggestions” were in that basket. The list included abstaining from temptation, gossip, procrastination, worry, anxiety, impatience, speaking ill of others and, of course, those other two evils, desserts and alcohol.
Back in my childhood days, Lenten fasts were a very big deal. We had to fast on something, and we had better keep to them, or else. And we did it without complaint. We knew it was something we had to do for 40 days, and we did it. All religious traditions were strictly adhered to back then.
Every Good Friday, we not only attended the Stations of the Cross, but we were not allowed to do anything between the hours of noon and 3 p.m. in honor of the Passion of Jesus. No television, no playing, no laughing, no nothing. If we dared ask to do something, our mothers would scold us and extend the quiet time.
During Lent, Catholics are not supposed to eat meat on Fridays. I recall walking into my buddy’s house one day and seeing my pal at the kitchen table chowing down a hot dog, which I am certain he made himself. I reminded him that it was Friday and it was still Lent.
My buddy just smiled and said, “That was the best tuna fish I ever ate.”
We are a few days into Lent 2017, and I am still fasting from desserts. I am determined to make it through the 40 days. I’m sure at the end, I will be proud that I accomplished this challenge.
But will I have done enough?
According to the website — dynamiccatholic.com — “Lent is the perfect time to form new life-giving habits and abandon old self-destructive habits. But most of us just give up chocolate. Then, when Easter arrives, we realize we really haven’t grown spiritually since the beginning of Lent.”
Abstaining from something, even chocolate, can prove to be meaningful, but is that what Lent is really all about? The Dynamic Catholic website says, “Lent is about doing something — something bold, to become a better husband or wife, father or mother, son or daughter, friend, neighbor, etc.”
Giving up desserts or alcohol is a good start, but that’s all it is.
