“What did you give up for Lent?”
Ever get that one? Like it’s something you’re supposed to post on your Facebook page.
A very good priest I knew, Dom Oppenheimer, warned against revealing one’s Lenten sacrifice.
“When you tell others what you gave up for Lent, you’re likely to feel some pride,” he explained. “But pride is the worst sin.”
That actually makes a lot of sense when you think about. So does his other Lenten sacrifice advice:
- Give up something small, not something big. If you give up something big, you’ll be tempted to feel . . . pride.
- Give up something inconsequential rather than something you ought to give up anyway. You ought not smoke, so giving up smoking isn’t really a sacrifice.
- Indulge in your sacrifice on Sundays because Sunday is the day God the Father set aside as a feast for His son, our Lord. To deny yourself at a feast insults the host. So indulge on Sundays in Lent.
What was the inconsequential, non-benefitial thing I gave up every day but Sundays of this Lent?
I just tweeted a link. And I’m not proud. ;-)
What did you give up that you can’t reveal?