Lent is a forty-day liturgical season that initiates the most sacred part of the Christian year. ... During Lent, Christians meditate on the great paschal mystery -When Ash Wednesday came around and it was time for Lent, I can remember what I would give up when I was a little girl. My most vivid memory was to give up Coca Cola. Silly thing is, though, a Coke was just a special treat we got to have on a Saturday afternoon. It wasn't like Mother allowed us to drink it any time as kids do now. Certain foods and rituals were special treats back then. So I wasn't really fasting from Coke for Lent. Excess wasn't the norm back then. You waited so long for your birthday to get that $5 in a birthday card so you could go to the toy and hobby store and purchase a couple new outfits for Barbie. You got a new pretty dress for Easter. You got new clothes for back to school. You waited all year for Christmas to come and drooled over the Speigel catalog selecting the few really special things you couldn't live without.
Do we truly live "without" these days? What should we give up for Lent?
