The North Carolina Piedmont Triad's top go-to source for News
A service of the News & Record, Greensboro, North Carolina
« Temple Emanuel's welcome to the GLBT community | Main | Land of the freelancers »
For Lent, I gave up talking on my cell phone while driving. Now, I pull over or wait until I stop to respond to the call. I was prompted while witnessing a woman almost hit someone crossing the street, because she was on her telephone. At least three weeks changes a habit, right?
I wonder if anyone is trying to give up texting, as the Catholic Church urges?
Due to recent automated spamming attacks on our blogs, we are temporarily requiring commenters to authenticate themselves via TypeKey® before posting comments to any News & Record blog in order to prevent denials of service. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.
Comments (6)
To report abuse of the comment feature on this site, please use the feedback form at the bottom of any page.
I haven't heard about texting, but I know at least two folks in my circle of friends (or the circle just outside that circle) giving up Facebook for Lent.
Posted on March 4, 2009 6:16 PM
This whole thing (lent, facebook, texting, religion, and whatever) is just so plain silly -
Posted on March 5, 2009 1:15 PM
Why stop at Lent? Give up texting while driving all the time. The life you save may be your own. But even if it isn't, it's still worth saving, while your conversation won't suffer from being put on hold until you can pull over safely. For that matter, put the phone away entirely until you get where you're going.
Posted on March 5, 2009 5:43 PM
i've pondered over penance for a long time and still can not get my mind wrapped around its function. does one really need a special day (lent) set aside to feel sorry for their sin and offer repentance? and somehow giving up texting is supposed to appease/please God ? i need that explained to me. Jesus paid the price once for all for our sins and if we think we can add one iota to its effectiveness, then we don't understand the word. to think that God appreciates it when we punish ourselves for our sins is absurd.
from modern day catholic dictionary:
Penance : the punishment by which one atones for sins committed, either by oneself or by others
Posted on March 7, 2009 5:46 PM
Buz makes an excellent point as it pertains to our traditional concept of penance. If Jesus’ death and resurrection are to be for the redemption and absolution of all sin, what more can Christians do other than ask for a little piece of that? I thought that was the point.
I do however see validity in special “projects” or times of the year that cause us to stop and think. Sadly, we’re all guilty of finding ourselves too busy to stop and recognize what we’ve been given. I think Lent offers us that opportunity. Using the texting example-- every time one would normally send a text, that serves as a reminder of what Christ gave up for Christians. It’s the same concept as tying a string on your finger.
Posted on March 7, 2009 10:37 PM
There's also the Pauline concept of training; remember "I keep my body under subjection" so that I may run the race and gain the prize? Denying onesself an innocent pleasure for a time (and Lent, for those not from liturgical traditions, is a whole season of 40 days before Easter) helps strengthen the will, the theory goes, so that resisting temptation will be easier. Does it work? Ask someone who was better at it than I was.
Posted on March 15, 2009 10:11 PM