Tuesday, February 21, 2023

 

Ash in my mind

As the Season of Lent begins, due to my limitation of knowledge of my religion, and even more limited in my practice, I am cobwebbed in confusion

Should I go for Mass and smear my forehead with ash that marks a sign of the cross, or should I try to reach out to lives and lighten the cross of challenges in their lives or help whose lives are reduced to ashes.

Then what I see is many displaying the ash on the heads, so I guess that is what I would also do

Why is there is so much war that is turning countries to rubbles of dust,  when we are dust and unto dust we shall return. Why we not realising this even after the priest saying it as he applies ash on our forehead? Has ash penetrated into our minds?

Should I give up something bad, wrong in me during Lent or should I give it up forever. Is Lent a season for a change or is it a reason for a change in my life. Some give up alcohol and certain food and binge on Easter. If this is so, I give up the bad in me for this Season, give up alcohol, etc and binge on everything on Easter Sunday, which is more a Feaster Sunday. Am I celebrating resurrection of Christ? Or is it an excuse to go back to my bad meandering ways?

Is the Season of Lent that culminates in the Holy Week a rituals of external display of religious worship only, or should it be reaching out and resurrecting people out of poverty, hunger and pain. 

Should I be fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday or should I be feeding the hungry? 

Is the end of Lent Season which is Easter only enjoying Choclate Eggs, or is it revelling in the resurrection of Christ or a Bunny?

Comments:
*Dear Brothers & Sisters🙏🏾INSTEAD OF FASTING FROM MEAT IN LENT, Understand from Rev. POPE FRANCIS that he PROPOSES 15 SIMPLE unique ACTS OF CHARITY to all believers in Holy CATHOLIC CHURCH & its preachings🤔*

*LOOK HOW 👌🏼BEAUTIFUL IT IS& Life will be thereon*! 🙏👍

1. greeting (always and everywhere)

2. *Give thanks * (even if you don't "have to").

3. Remind others how much you *love them. * *

4. 4. *Greet with joy* to those people you see every day.

5 Listen to the other person's *Hi Story *, without prejudice, *with love*.

6 Stop to *help*. Be *attentive to those who need you. *

7 *Revive* someone's morale.

8 *Celebrate* the *qualities* or *success* of another like me.

9 ⁸ *Select* what you don't use and *give* to those who deserve or are in need of it.

10 *Help when needed* for someone else to rest.

11 *Correct with love,* don't keep quiet out of fear.

12 *Have a good adjective / word* with those who are *near you.*

13 *Clean up what V use at home * *

14 *Help others overcome all obstacles*.

15 *Call your parents*, if you are lucky enough to have them & TREAT them as they have done unto you, in your infancy / adolescence & HELP them🙏🏾

- *Fasting is surely required from Caustic / hurtful words* 🤔and passing on only kind words

- *Fast from discontent* and fill yourself with gratitude for all that you got & have / had till date;💐

- *Fast from anger* and fill yourself with mansuitude and patience

- *Fast from pessimism* and fill yourself with hope and optimism for future.

- *Fast from worry* and fill yourself with Beliefs & trust in God

- *Fast from complaining* and fill yourself with the simple things in life

- *Fast from pressure* and fill yourself with prayer

- *Fast from sadness* and bitterness and fill your heart with joy as *God our Lord is watching 24/7, wherever VB;*

- *Fast from selfishness* and fill yourself with compassion for others

- *Fast from unforgiveness* and fill yourself with reconciling attitudes

- *Fast from words* and fill yourself with silence and listening to others

If we all try this fast, daily life will be filled with :

*Brotherhood*
*PEACE*
*CONFIDENCE*
*JOY*
AND *👌🏼LIFE*.

*I too believe, its with Great wisdom from Pope Francis in this Lent proposal, that's why I endorse it too & now gladly share it!!!*🌹

Best Regards💓
Ln; *UdayPrabhu@Activist.Com*
 
Extremely thought provoking
Tk u Sunny
 
Well written it makes us think about lent in the proper perspective.
 
Wonderful thoughts shared . Each individual has his/her own conscience and it's upto them to choose the path they want during this Lenten season.
 
Dear Friends,
I would like to share my thoughts on a post of Pope Francis that has gone viral. I was trying to source the origin of this post. The words of Pope Francis in the post attached below is improvised from his message for Lent in 2015. It is important to note that Pope Francis is in no way downplaying the importance of the ancient traditional practises of piety namely: fasting (abstinence from meat, alcohol, sweets etc..,), prayer and alms-giving. These are important practises of piety which are a means to holiness. The objective of these practices is to help us being a better version of ourselves, reflecting the very image of God through our lives.
What did Pope Francis actually say: Pope Francis has asked us to reconsider the heart of this activity this Lenten season. According to Francis, fasting must never become superficial. He often quotes the early Christian mystic John Chrysostom who said: "No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great."
But this isn't to downplay the role of sacrifice during the Lenten season. Lent is a good time for penance and self-denial. But once again, Francis reminds us that these activities must truly enrich others: "I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt."
So, if we're going to fast from anything this Lent, Francis suggests that even more than candy or alcohol, we fast from indifference towards others.
In his annual Lenten message, the pope writes, "Indifference to our neighbour and to God also represents a real temptation for us Christians. Each year during Lent we need to hear once more the voice of the prophets who cry out and trouble our conscience."
Pope Francis calls this the "globalization of indifference": "whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God's voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades." He continues that, "We end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people's pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else's responsibility and not our own."
"What are you giving up for Lent?" It's a question a lot of people will get these next few days. If you want to change your body, perhaps alcohol and candy is the way to go. But if you want to change your heart, a harder fast is needed. This narrow road is gritty, but it isn't sterile. It will make room in ourselves to experience a love that can make us whole and set us free.
Wishing you all a very blessed, meaningful and gracefilled season of Lent.
God bless you,
Fr. Joseph Royan, C.Ss.R
 
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