As For Me, I Gave Up Catholicism for Lent About 35 Years Ago…

From Glenn Beck's site The Blaze, the ultimate Lenten sacrifice:

An Iowa man says he is serious about Lent — the 46-day period between Ash Wednesday and Easter. So serious, in fact, he's celebrating the Christian practice by doing what ancient monks did: giving up everything but water and beer.

J. Wilson, a homebrewer, says he became fascinated when heard the story of how ancient monks used to make a special brew called doppelbock, or "liquid bread," when they were forbidden to eat food during Lent. That gave him the idea to try it himself.

More here.

This seems like a good time to remember Brother Dominic, patron saint of copiers:

Comments

[gaijin97]

doppelbock...mmm...that just sounds like it tastes good. Like black forest rye...in a bottle.

[Vermont Gun Owner]

That is how to do Lent right.

Also, I know this wasn't you Nick, but Lent is 40 days. The Sundays during the period aren't part of Lent.

[crimethink]

They're not counted in the 40 days, but they are part of Lent. (Hence they are referred to as "1st Sunday of Lent", "2nd Sunday of Lent", etc in the liturgy). Back in the days when people were expected to fast during Lent, the Sundays were a break... a technicality lost in this pusilanimous era of dispensations from Lenten obligations for St Patrick's Day and such.

[Brett L]

Regarding the St. Patrick's Day dispensation: Never make a rule that you can't enforce. The micks were gonna have their corned beef, AND they're already going to Hell. Let 'em have some fun.

[crimethink]

If I were bishop I'd tell them they had to abstain from meat the next day if they indulged on SPD. I'd also get rid of the exemption for fish, which is insanity.

[Metazoan]

or get rid of the rule in the first place, which is insanity.

[Tim Cavanaugh]

The real miracle is how little copiers have changed in four decades. No wonder Xerox felt comfortable ignoring the GUI interface when they were selling such wonderful machines.

[DNS]

No wonder Xerox felt comfortable ignoring the GUI interface when they were selling such wonderful machines.

Hindsight...20/20.

[Joshua Corning]

No wonder Xerox felt comfortable ignoring the GUI interface

Technically didn't Xerox invent the GUI?

[BikeRider]

Yes. Jobs took the idea from Xerox PARC for the Mac and Gates took it from Apple for Windows.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PARC_(company)#The_GUI

[Sal Paradise]

Both Gates and Jobs visited Xerox before MacOS or Windows came out. So they both stole it, fair and square.

[BakedPenguin]

The geniuses in Xerox HQ let Jobs visit. Xerox Parc had GUI interfaces, LAN email, drop-down menus - in 1975.

It's hard to think of a company that displayed a similar level of cluelessness.

[Invisible Finger]

One part cluelessness, plus one part anti-trust regulation = chicken-shit officers not wanting to take a chance.

[?]

The Lent Reenactment Society I'm in meets at St. Filthy McNasty's monastery every Saturday.

B) The 1800s aren't "ancient," Golden Tee champ.

[Aresen]

I had a cow-orker [sic] once who was High Church Anglican (=Catholic without the Pope) and made a huge point about "giving up" something she liked for Lent every year. She obviously gained great self-satisfaction from her 'sacrifice' and wanted everyone to know it.

After about five years I said to her "Joanne, you get such pleasure out of giving up things for Lent that I think this year you should give up what you enjoy most: Giving things up for Lent."

The remainder of the conversation did not go well.

[Sudden]

There is some value to the whole principle of giving something up. I do it every few years, eventhough I am anything but religious. It's almost always the same thing, booze. And since it's not meant to be religious, I just go 40 days straight and get smashed on Palm Sunday. I mostly do it to make sure I'm not an alcoholic and to drop a few lbs. This is one of those years that I'm doing it. Last time I did it was three years ago and my first day after the 40 days was St. Patricks day so it worked out pretty damn awesome then.

[zoltan]

There is definite value in self-discipline and sacrifice. What Aresen was getting at was his co-worker's vocal self-satisfaction and probable superiority complex.

[NoVAHockey]

When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

[generic Brand]

I got into an argument with my girlfriend that the current idea of Lent was no different than the made up holidays of Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. Suffice it to say, it didn't end well.

[Tulpa]

Seems like there's a lot of libertarian guys for whom conversations with females don't end well.

[Brett L]

Using rationality to disagree with a woman is like trying to drive off a shark by hitting it with a bag of chum.

[Sudden]

Women want and respond positively to empathy. We libertarians are horrible with empathy and we spend most of our time laughing at the misfortunes of idiots while twisting our moustaches and adjusting our tophats and monocles.

[GSL]

Only when we're on this blog.

[Brett L]

That's not true, if you broke your monocle, I would empathize.

[NeonCat]

Damn these crappy union-made monocles!

[Vermont Gun Owner]

My monocle is self adjusting. It sounds like you need a better model.

[yonemoto]

to be honest, it's true for some men too, like chony.

[yonemoto]

also, I'm in the sciences, so I don't have this problem with most of the women I have a professional relationship with.

[Vermont Gun Owner]

One thing that I am curious about is his job and how this will affect it.

[DNS]

The remainder of the conversation did not go well.

I assume her Lenten observance regarding you is still in effect.

[Aresen]

There was something about having me declared Hostis Ecclesias Generis.

[R C Teddy]

I did not know that about doppelbock. Because I like malty beers, I have long been a fan of the breed.

[Number 2]

Thanks for the reminder! I'll have to pick up some dopplebock on the way home tonight. Sam Adams makes a decent version.

[R C Dean]

Sam Adams?

Optimator is the doppel of choice.

[Number 2]

Agreed, but it is not always easy to find out here in Jersey.

[Old Mexican]

So serious, in fact, he's celebrating the Christian practice by doing what ancient monks did: giving up everything but water and beer.

And grasshoppers.

[Aresen]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am getting a "Daily Bible Guide" ad between the post and the comments. I know they're done on a 'keyword' basis, but it's pretty funny in context. (Sort of like the "Train to be a Police Officer" adds I get on Balko's posts and at The Agitator.)

[Yup]

If you click on the Blaze story, in the background there looks to be a poster of the devil.

[crimethink]

That ancient beer was pretty noxious stuff, so this guy better not be drinking microbrewed delicacies.

[BakedPenguin]

Sackcloth, check. Ashes, check. PBR, check.

[Joshua Corning]

he's celebrating the Christian practice by doing what ancient monks did: giving up everything but water and beer.

More proof that Christian holidays are way more fun then Jewish holidays.

In fact aside from the pagan holidays that Christians pretty much co-opted anyway the only non-christian holiday that even touches them is Chinese New Year.

[zoltan]

I'd like to see any non-pagan holiday beat Beltane.

[Jeff P]

This explains why Spring Breaks always falls during Lent...

[Fist of Etiquette]

Giving up something for Lent is something children are supposed to do until they're old enough to use the time to reflect on their own mortality.

[Sudden]

Nevertheless, I think there is a great value to sacrifice/self-denial that we adults can learn from and appreciate. I am reflecting on my own mortality by sparing my liver and kidneys some of the abuse they would ordinarily incur.

[Tulpa]

I thought Christians believed in immorality.

[Tulpa]

Immortality, God damn it!

[Aresen]

Better the first way.

(And I don't believe the typo was accidental.)

[Tulpa]

I've given up smell-check for Lent.

[Aresen]

Oh, fart.

[kinnath]

Phyllis Diller used to say that she could only get dates with Catholic boys during lent.

[db]

I can't quite put my finger on it but something seems fishy about that quote.

[kinnath]

only get dates -- during lent -- with Catholic boys

If I could deliver a joke, I wouldn't be stuck being an engineer.

[Vermont Gun Owner]

There's nothing 'stuck' about being an engineer. Unless you're a civil.

[kinnath]

I make 6 figures; live in a big house; and drive a late model sports car. Other than that, it's hard to see what the benefit of being an engineer is 😉

[Tulpa]

The problem with severe fasts like this is that, if the fasting in Lent doesn't kill you, the gorging on Easter definitely will.

[R C Dean]

For a lot of your pre-modern types, Lent falls during the time when last year's harvest was running out anyway. I suspect many of them would have been "fasting" regardless.

[Invisible Finger]

+1

The church was like today's Fed. Make the plebes sacrifice so the elders don't have to take a loss.

[Nick]

I was gonna give up being pissed off all the time, but there's just no way. That bitch who beat her 3 year old to death for having an accident, then eating pizza and watching a movie before calling 911 because she couldn't sleep from his wheezing as he lay there dying just makes me want to set her on fire and beat the shit out of her with a salty hammer.

(deep breath)

[Almanian]

I'm such a good Christian that I look forward to giving Lent a miss completely again this year.

Presbyterian - Like Having No Religion At All?

[wylie]

Presbyterian - Like Having No Religion At All?

Talk about a hot slogan.