Fat Tuesday.

mystagogy:

lovelyloretta:

I don’t really understand the concept of overindulging in everything you’re not supposed to have during Lent.

As my priest always says, whatever you’re doing for Lent should not be something that you plan on going back to once Easter is here. You should do something that will affect your life forever after. As an adult, you shouldn’t give up candy because it’s difficult, but because you have a problem with enjoying candy so much that it’s somehow interfering with your relationship with the Lord. Regardless of the time of the liturgical year, overdoing anything is not good for our spiritual health. If you take in as much as you can up until midnight, it defeats the purpose of Lent entirely.

While we are called to sacrifice as Christ did for us, we are also called to use this time of year to invoke a permanent change that brings us closer to the Lord. I have health problems that prevent me from doing a strict fast during this time, but I began my version of fasting last weekend, and I tend to let it affect me even after the Easter season is over. 

For example, a few years ago, I gave up clothes shopping for Lent because I care too much about fashion. After Lent was over, I bought clothes again, but for a long time I was able to stop overdoing it like I had prior. I’ve had a little backsliding since I’ve wanted to redo my wardrobe for college, and one of my Lenten sacrifices will be giving up clothes shopping.

Fat Tuesday is gluttony, and gluttony is always a blockage between us and the Lord. It’s like saying the day before you go to confession, you may as well sin all you can because hey, you’re about to be forgiven. If you are giving up chocolate, of course you want to have some the day before. But if you don’t overdo it, then you can really savor every bite - you can appreciate it, and if you can appreciate something so simple, there’s no way that can hurt your relationship with God. If you eat until your pants don’t fit, all you’ve done is gotten sick over something that’s supposed to bring pleasure.

I encourage everyone to take this idea to heart. Give up Fat Tuesday and eating the entire basket’s worth of candy on Easter Sunday. Pray for a real internal change that will make you a holier person, not just while you’re fasting, but for the rest of your life.

Have a happy, holy, and meaningful Lent.

I love all of this, but especially the end…bolding mine. Yes, this is what Lent is about.

This.