Michael Haz said...
I was sitting in the pew at St. Stan's this morning listening to Monsignor Jayr deliver his usual excellent homily and it started me (belatedly)thinking about what I will do this year as Lenten sacrifices. It's a Catholic thing. The idea is to make a small sacrifice - give up a thing or two that you like in remembrance of Christ's last days on earth.
I've not been good about this in the past. In earlier years I'd joke that I'm giving up opium and watermelon, or some similar mock sacrifice. I've been more serious about it in the past few years. Calendar, and all.
I'm giving up an number of habits this Lent. One of them is recreational use of my computer. I'm going to disappear from blogs beginning Ash Wednesday. I may make a comment or two on Sundays (that's allowed), but otherwise I'll be absent until Holy Saturday.
There are other things involved, of course, but those are too private to post. Things to help with the daily struggle to become a better person. You know how it goes.
Anyhow, those are the plans I made in the pew at Saint Stan's.
13 comments:
Michael Haz - stay strong, my friend.
I'm giving up busting balls.
Nick--
Maybe keep it down to busting one ball at a time?
Forty days is a long time, Spinelli. You still have time to change your mind.
blake, That seems lawyerly. And Sixty, I do know it's a long time. I'll be ok I think until someone busts mine. Then we'll see how much I love the the Good Lord.
I don't think you can do it spinelli.
Why not give up your Frank Cannon imitation and instead dress like Dom Deluise.
Just sayn'
I'll be ok I think until someone busts mine. Then we'll see how much I love the the Good Lord.
When does Lent commence?
It's the day after Mardi Gras.
OK, I guess I'll try and give up blogs too. Just to see how long I'll last.
Lately, I've been thinking about my use of the computer. For me time spent online has been both life saving and life spending. Recently, at Ambiance, Amba said something that resonated about matter being a corrective. At this point, I'm aiming for more balance, and am not yet ready for 40 days without. I hope it goes well for you, M Haz, and yields a blessing of unexpected goodness and awareness.
Matter is a corrective. Matter exerts a resistance, a counterforce, like wood to a carving knife or water to a ship’s keel or air under an airplane’s wings, that paradoxically enables us to get somewhere by making it more difficult. The Internet is a sensory deprivation tank. It somehow has the exact specific gravity of a human brain, so that it cancels out the heavy, reminding tug of our bodies. It deceives us that whatever we can imagine is not only possible, but already sufficiently existent without the salutary work and frustration that is matter’s accursed blessing. Our minds are crumbling like the bones of astronauts who have lived too long in weightlessness.
Many people have had, and many more will have, unpleasant awakenings from this dream.
from Ambiance, Jan 13, "What's The Matter With This Picture"
MamaM - I went over there and read that thread. Interesting. I have had to adjust the way I interact with the internet - and found it is very easy to back slide into former behaviors that serve no one.
Anyway, I comment here and a few other places, but for me, TOP is a snare that brings out the worst in me. A bit of self awareness and self control is required if I want to avoid reacting to that mess. Being human I struggle with it, but so far, so good. It's been well over a year since I made a comment there and with luck, I will keep that record going.
Yes. With the words in the first comment circling back to fit here.
I like this definition of the word adjust: To achieve a balance with regard to one's external environment, one's needs, and the demands of others.
I left soon after Carol Herman showed up. The mix-up where I was presumed to be Meade added impetus, but other factors were also involved. It was a good decision for me.
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