Traditions

What better time to talk about the idea of traditions than the day the Catholic Church begins one of it's oldest and most significant traditions, the season of Lent.

We all have traditions. They are ones passed down by former generations in our families and even our faith communities. They sometimes have special meaning to us, and sometimes we carry them on just because "that's the way my parents did it."

In the Catholic Church, we are called to carry on the traditions of fasting, prayer and almsgiving during the season of Lent. Over the course of Lent, I will dedicate an entry to each of these traditions, but I want to make a general comment about them in relation to the concept of tradition.

I have been raised to uphold these traditions since I was a little child. I understand the reasoning behind them. However, I do find it saddening that there are young Christians in today's society view these sacrifices as almost personal attacks on their freedom. They complain how these practices are stupid, yet know little to nothing about their history. They don't understand the value of sacrifice. This is not entirely their own fault. We have raised an entire generation based on the concept of individualistic isolationism. They are raised to care about themselves above all else. They fail to understand the tradition that Christ gave us directly, which is to love one another and to serve our brothers and sisters in order to bring about the Kingdom of God.

Traditions during Lent can go beyond the practices of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. I have my own traditions during Lent. Each Ash Wednesday, I start to read a new book that relates to my personal studies of theology. This year, I am reading The Parables of Peanuts, the follow-up book to Robert Short's The Gospel According to Peanuts. For the last ten years, I have also done daily readings from the Little Black Book by the Diocese of Saginaw (www.littlebooks.org) I also have a Lent 2010 iMix (Which you can now download on iTunes)of songs I have chosen to use in my own prayers and meditiations during Lent. And this year, I am trying to say a decade of the rosary each day, which is in thanks to my Rosary Rap CD by Joe Melendrez (www.rosaryrap.com).

Whatever traditions you may partake in this Lent, remember to keep Christ at the center!