{"id":2015,"date":"2015-02-17T12:03:53","date_gmt":"2015-02-17T17:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/moniqueocampowrites\/?p=2015"},"modified":"2015-02-17T12:03:53","modified_gmt":"2015-02-17T17:03:53","slug":"why-i-will-not-ashtag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/moniqueocampowrites\/2015\/02\/17\/why-i-will-not-ashtag\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Will Not #Ashtag"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I am giving up selfies for Lent.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong. I love taking pictures. And usually, I am all for selfies. Selfies are not<\/i> bad in and of themselves. Watch this video<\/a> to see how selfies are more than what people think. But for Lent, I am not gonna take any selfies and I\u2019m changing all my profile pictures so that you don\u2019t see my face.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I bet you\u2019re wondering why am I giving up selfies and having my face on my social media profile pictures for Lent.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Because it\u2019s not all about me. Or whatever status updates I have in mind when I take my selfies. It\u2019s because He must increase and I must decrease. And it\u2019s because we rise again from ashes from the good we failed to do. (Yes, I still have nostalgia for that song. #cradleCatholicproblems)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whenever Lent comes around, I often recall a homily or a conversation about a homily back in my college days where Fr. Ted (no, not the guy from that UK TV show) told everyone to wipe off the ashes after Mass is over as a sign of hiding the fact that you\u2019re fasting. It\u2019s a modern perspective\u00a0on the familiar verse from tomorrow\u2019s\u00a0Gospel (Matthew 6:16-18):<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

When you fast,<\/p>\n

do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.<\/p>\n

They neglect their appearance,<\/p>\n

so that they may appear to others to be fasting.<\/p>\n

Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.<\/p>\n

But when you fast,<\/p>\n

anoint your head and wash your face,<\/p>\n

so that you may not appear to be fasting,<\/p>\n

except to your Father who is hidden.<\/p>\n

And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lent is not about acting depressed. It\u2019s about improving yourself, body and soul, through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Ashes aren\u2019t supposed to be a sign of pride, but a sign of humility, as Mark Hart goes into detail about<\/a>. So what\u2019s the problem with showing off your ashes? Let\u2019s just say we probably know some people who are\u00a0Catholic in name only who only show up during Ash Wednesday and show off their ashes throughout the day. (*coughNANCYPELOSIcough*) So no, I\u2019m not gonna show off my ashes tomorrow. And you won\u2019t see my face in any of my posts until Lent is over.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Selfies aren\u2019t the only thing I\u2019m giving up, but I\u2019m not exactly gonna tell you what else. Why? Well, watch this video<\/a> from The Catholic Apologist. Again, it\u2019s so I can keep in mind that Lent is all about God and not about what I\u2019m planning on giving up.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead, I want to tell you about the extra things I have planned for Lent. I am going to do a lot more reading. You\u2019ll see posts about the books I read throughout the next several weeks. I\u2019m also adding Lectio Divina to my daily prayer routine. And finally, I\u2019ll be posting photos from Lenten photo challenges on my Instagram and on this blog.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For this Lent, I challenge you guys to do something extra on top of giving something up. Just keep in mind that God comes first and you shouldn\u2019t do something way too extreme. Taylor Marshall<\/a> found that out the hard way. Instead, think of something that you know will push you out of your comfort zone and offer it up to God.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am giving up selfies for Lent. \u00a0 Don\u2019t get me wrong. I love taking pictures. And usually, I am all for selfies. Selfies are not bad in and of themselves. Watch this video to see how selfies are more than what people think. But for Lent, I am not gonna take any selfies and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2156,"featured_media":2020,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,8,212],"tags":[49,482,1973,481],"class_list":["post-2015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-being-catholic-2","category-faith-2","category-lent","tag-ash-wednesday","tag-ashtag","tag-lent","tag-selfies"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy I Will Not #Ashtag<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I am giving up selfies for Lent.   Don't get me wrong. I love taking pictures. And usually, I am all for selfies. 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