If you have not been following along with us, I encourage you to start now. It’s not too late to observe the Lenten season. Just do one week, the most important week, Holy Week. Download the pdf (click here) and do what you can for the final days leading up to Easter.
For those of you who have been keeping the disciplines faithfully, I hope this Lenten journey has proven fruitful for you. Perhaps you have realized, I certainly have, a few things you can change about your everyday life. With Holy Week upon us, it is time to think about disciplines we would like to keep in our routine and things we will happily leave behind in Lent. For me, I would like to continue the no unnecessary phone policy and continue to read every day. On the other hand there are things I can not wait to enjoy. Easter brings a celebration, and after all, wine is the life of man (Sirach 31:27).
This Lent has been the most rigorous – full of prayer, fasting and almsgiving I have ever committed myself to. It ripped a bandaid off and revealed the wound of modern convenience. It’s amazing what 40 days of discipline shows you. Here’s a few of my takeaways.
Food Fasts – Is heartburn and a bloated stomach naturally occurring? Only when you eat unnaturally occurring foods. Another method of combating digestive issues was shown to me during lent. Not eating.
Exercise – 30-45 minutes per day is all I needed and wanted. The energy boost, focus, and sense of accomplishment make it a good investment of time. Do I really need another 30 minutes of the news? I’ll take the mental break.
No Sweet Drinks and No Sugar – This is one gets old fast, especially for me. My Monday morning cup of bitter joe is not as good as the Orange Celsius. But I realized how often drinks are used as a treat rather than fuel or nutrition.
The Phone – “We amuse ourselves to death.” – someone said this in the 1980s. In the 80s! All they had were tvs – they were still sending texts with homing pigeons. When the discipline of the phone comes up in conversation, everybody seems to agree they have an addiction and the phone needs to go. What’s the hold up? Time to move on from the smartphones. I ordered a CAT s22 this week, I guess I’m off the grid now.
Cold Showers – As an act of mortification they are great! 40 days of them – rough. I always felt a jolt of energy after with the refreshing cold water. But I think I spent more time outside of the shower curtains looking in than I did under the faucet – prepping myself like I was William Wallace about to go to battle with the bloody cold water.
Outdoor Activity – Into the wilderness my fellow Catholic Canoeists. We are called to journey and gather experiences with God’s creation. I’ll be honest, for a couple weeks my outdoor activity was a run or a walk. But there were more times than not I and some other Catholic Canoeists were able to get outside on the water. Albeit, the muddy Walborn Reservoir, but it beats the pavement. We took our canoes on the water and wandered about ~ a necessity of life.
Faith – All of the disciplines are for none if we do not have faith to accommodate them. Exercise quickly turns to vanity, fasting becomes dieting (-MM), cold showers – a hit of dopamine, outdoor adventure becomes our instagram personality. The daily rosary, readings and prayers help us to offer our sacrifices to the Lord and remind us there is more than material. Each discipline is a looming task until you realize how your life has changed because of it.
I feel we have accomplished what we set out to do. There are not many days remaining until the resurrection, keep your fast and finish strong.
The Catholic Canoeist treks through Lent with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
Have very holy Holy Week,
Summer Sausage Sailor
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