{"id":1357,"date":"2015-02-25T09:54:03","date_gmt":"2015-02-25T16:54:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/?p=1357"},"modified":"2015-02-25T09:54:03","modified_gmt":"2015-02-25T16:54:03","slug":"the-lenten-life-falling-and-getting-back-up-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2015\/02\/the-lenten-life-falling-and-getting-back-up-again\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lenten Life: Falling and Getting Back Up Again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"images\"<\/a>A Catholic parish near our home features this on their home page, front and center:<\/p>\n

Lenten and Triduum regulations 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

These are the 2015 Lenten and Triduum regulations:<\/strong><\/p>\n

FAST AND ABSTINENCE<\/strong><\/p>\n

The holy season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 18, 2015.<\/p>\n

Masses on Ash Wednesday will be offered at 8 am 12:10 pm and 7 pm.<\/p>\n

Both Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, April 03, are days of abstinence from meat for all who are 14 years and older. They are also days of fast (one full meal and two small meals, with nothing eaten between the meals) for adults from 18 to 59 years of age.<\/p>\n

ABSTINENCE<\/strong><\/p>\n

All Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence from meat for those 14 years and older.<\/p>\n

Finally, if you have any questions, please contact the Parish Center Office.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Regulations?\u00a0 One full meal and two small meals?\u00a0 Stipulated ages?\u00a0 Yikes.<\/p>\n

I found myself wondering, what would happen if I called the Parish Office and said, \u201cI have a question.\u00a0 What happens if I\u2019ve fallen and I can\u2019t get up?\u201d<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think that this kind of instruction is necessarily characteristic of the Catholic Church.\u00a0 I checked the websites of some other nearby Catholic parishes and I didn\u2019t see the word regulation anywhere.\u00a0 What I saw, instead, was the language of invitation.<\/p>\n

Across the Christian tradition, the language of \u201cregulation\u201d has never completely slipped from view.\u00a0 There will always be churches that rely on rules to insure righteousness.\u00a0 But, it doesn\u2019t of course.\u00a0 It produces three kinds of people: those fearfully compliant; those who rebel; and those who are tormented by failure.<\/p>\n

The path out of that experience is different for each group:\u00a0 For the fearfully compliant, spiritual health can only be achieved by trusting God, rather than their performance. \u00a0For the rebellious, well being lies in discovering that a relationship with God need not be shaped by rules and that conforming to rules is not God\u2019s goal.<\/p>\n

For those who are tormented by failure, it\u2019s the promise that you can always get back up:<\/p>\n

A young monk said to the great ascetic Abba Sisoes: \u201cAbba, what should I do? I fell.\u201d The elder answered: \u201cGet up!\u201d The monk said: \u201cI got up and I fell again!\u201d The elder replied: \u201cGet up again!\u201d But the young monk asked: \u201cFor how long should I get up when I fall?\u201d \u201cUntil your death,\u201d answered Abba Sisoes.\u00a0 \u2014Sayings of the Desert Fathers<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you find yourself struggling this Lent with the burden of regulations, let them go.\u00a0 And when you fall, get back up again.\u00a0 God will help.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Catholic parish near our home features this on their home page, front and center: Lenten and Triduum regulations 2015 These are the 2015 Lenten and Triduum regulations: FAST AND ABSTINENCE The holy season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 18, 2015. Masses on Ash Wednesday will be offered at 8 am 12:10 pm […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":240,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,129,157,21,101,16,78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church","category-faith","category-freedom","category-healing-and-restoration","category-lent","category-spiritual-direction","category-spiritual-disciplines-2"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Lenten Life: Falling and Getting Back Up Again<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Catholic parish near our home features this on their home page, front and center: Lenten and Triduum regulations 2015 These are the 2015 Lenten and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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