Last week we asked the boys at Contact what they were giving up for Lent. Having been raised Catholic, and subject to 13 years of Catholic school myself, I was familiar with the tradition of giving up a luxury or activity for a period of 40 days each winter or spring. Though officially I haven’t considered myself a ‘practicing’ Catholic since graduating high school, I still find the idea of voluntarily going without to be an interesting practice of faith. Though my own claim to be giving up American Sign Language, while signing, “I love you,” was only intended to be ironic, I was struck by how even this empty gesture indicates my current state of mind.
The purpose of Lenten sacrifices is intended to help the faithful connect with the immense sacrifice of Christ. Growing up, my sacrifices tended to be of the sugary variety (ice cream, chocolate, etc.) or mild promises as a petulant teen to be nicer to my family. But giving up on a form of communication or the act of saying, “I love you,” seems to be even more incongruous with the goal of the season than my superficial promises of yore. Nevertheless, giving up on the need to romantically connect, only to find it falling on deaf ears, is something I desperately need to attempt.
