{"id":3494,"date":"2012-02-22T08:49:38","date_gmt":"2012-02-22T14:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/?p=3494"},"modified":"2013-02-11T21:42:27","modified_gmt":"2013-02-12T03:42:27","slug":"dont-waste-your-lent-giving-up-chocolate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/22\/dont-waste-your-lent-giving-up-chocolate\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Waste Your Lent Giving Up Chocolate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>If you’re reading this post, it’s probably close to Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.<\/p>\n

If you’re Catholic, without a doubt you’ll be asked, “What are you giving up?”<\/p>\n

And, 99% of the time the answer will come back, “Chocolate!”<\/p>\n

Now don’t get me wrong, I like a good fast as much as the next guy (unless that guy is St. Francis).<\/p>\n

But I\u00a0believe there’s more productive things to do during Lent than giving up chocolate–and I’m going to tell you why!
\n<\/p>\n

Lent…it’s like training camp<\/h2>\n

Lent is like spiritual training camp.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every summer, football teams go to training camp. It’s an intense time when they work out extra hard to get in shape for\u00a0the regular season. They do conditioning, drill the fundamentals, work on key skills, and\u00a0scrimmage.<\/p>\n

They do all these things during the season too, but training camp is intensive training. It gets them really ready for the big games.<\/p>\n

During Lent, we’re in intensive training<\/a> for the big day–Easter! That’s\u00a0the highest celebration of the whole year. We have to be ready.<\/p>\n

What do you work on during Lent?<\/h2>\n

During Lent, we work to purify ourselves–get rid of sin and\/or sinful tendencies.<\/p>\n

The Lenten spiritual disciplines (giving stuff up) are like the conditioning drills in training camp. Instead of strengthening the body for resisting tackles, they strengthen the will for resisting our sinful tendencies.<\/p>\n

The root of all sin is disordered self-love<\/strong>. It’s disordered because we love ourselves and what we want more<\/strong> than we love God and what he wants for us.\u00a0Ordered self-love<\/strong> makes God, and his ways, the priority.<\/p>\n

Ironically, ordered self-love sometimes means you don’t get what your “self” loves. That’s because we often make bad choices.<\/p>\n

The temptation not to follow God can be strong and, let’s face it, we’re weak. Our disordered selves love to give in to sin. It feels really good at the time, but it’s really bad for you.<\/p>\n

It can’t be allowed to live!<\/h2>\n

Disordered self-love can’t merely be tolerated. It can’t be allowed to live! It must be killed! Mortified!<\/p>\n

Mortifications<\/a> are penances that involve self-denial.<\/strong>\u00a0In Latin,\u00a0mortis<\/em>\u00a0means death. Mortification \u201cputs to death\u201d sinful tendencies and desires. In\u00a0the spiritual life you’re like James Bond–licensed to kill!<\/p>\n

So, why not give up chocolate for Lent? Giving up chocolate is not bad. It’s denying yourself something that your “self” loves. That indirectly strengthens the will to fight your sinful tendencies.<\/p>\n

But there’s a more direct way. Figure out your biggest fault<\/a> and attack that directly.<\/p>\n