By Anthony Selvanathan
Special to the Herald
As this edition of the Hawaii Catholic Herald precedes Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten season, I thought it would be beneficial to provide some tips and tools for your spiritual toolbox so that we all can make the most of this Jubilee Year’s Lenten season.
Lent is a time when we can “prune away” the bad parts of ourselves through fasting, prayer and almsgiving, so that we may all celebrate Easter more fruitfully and joyfully.
The longstanding tradition of giving something up for Lent is rooted in the ideals of penance, sacrifice and self-discipline. Here is a list of different things to consider giving up for Lent that are not the usual suggestions, such as chocolate, smoking or coffee:
- Having to have the last word.
- Taking those you love for granted.
- Worrying about things you cannot change or control.
- Losing your temper.
- Trying to be a perfectionist.
- Patronizing people who work for/with you.
- Complaining.
- Carrying grudges.
- Expecting to be bored by your parish priest’s homily at daily/Sunday Mass.
- Nagging others.
- Thinking about money all the time.
- Feeling sorry for yourself.
- Social media addiction/doomscrolling — the excessive consumption of social media content for an excessive period without stopping.
- Ghosting and avoiding confrontation — avoiding difficult conversations/dating relationships by disappearing instead of addressing issues or concerns.
- Procrastination — being distracted by social media or gaming instead of getting work done.
- Impulse shopping — trying to solve your problems with “retail therapy.”
- FOMO (“Fear of missing out”)-driven spending — feeling the urge to attend every social event just because others are going.
- Overreliance on food delivery apps or services like DoorDash and UberEats.
- Binge-watching marathons on Netflix, Hulu or YouTube — spending the whole weekend watching television or streaming services excessively.
- Forwarding spam emails and chain messages — sending along the “If you don’t share this, bad luck will come” emails or social media posts that can clutter our inboxes to friends and family, thus filling their own inboxes with junk.
- Truth be told, some of these suggestions came from my mentor and dear friend, Marianist Father George Cerniglia, who worked at Chaminade University as rector for eight years.
Here are more items in my “spiritual toolbox” that help me grow in faith during the Lenten season and might be helpful for others:
- Making time for the sacrament of reconciliation (confession).
- Finding a spiritual director to guide my spiritual and prayer life.
- Taking time to do acts of charity and service and striving to do the corporal works of mercy.
As we journey into Lent during this Jubilee Year of Hope, I encourage you to pick one of the suggestions on the list above and try to stick to it throughout the season. As Father George often encourages me: Make this Lent different. If not now, when?
