What did you give up for Lent?

A question to all of our Catholic members, what did you give up for Lent? How difficult was it to go 40 days without that particular thing?

I have some friends (not catholic but doing it out of empathy for one of their friends) who gave up Chocolate and Saturday Morning Cartoons.

I'm a big movie fan, so we gave up movie nights at the theatre.

I'm curious. What do you think is the purpose behind giving up "this" or "that" for Lent?

And, a secondary question, why don't people add or pick up practices for Lent? For example, giving up chocolate but adding something healthy to their diet? Or giving up movies, but using that hour to volunteer at a local homeless shelter?

I don't really understand Lent, except for the aspect of 'fasting'.

This is taken from Wikipedia

There are traditionally forty days in Lent which are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigour during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving
(justice towards neighbour). Today, some people give up a vice of
theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God, and often
give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations.

In addition to giving-up movie night, I gave up fries from McDonald

Bringing my husband and his younger brother closer was also a goal of mine. Since they have a 9 years age difference they have very little in common...So Saturday night became family game night in an attempt to bring them closer. Mission accomplished.

And Chiyo, those are great ideas, we don't have a homeless shelter but we do have a mobile soup kitchen.

Chiyo wrote:I'm curious. What do you think is the purpose behind giving up "this" or "that" for Lent?

And, a secondary question, why don't people add or pick up practices for Lent? For example, giving up chocolate but adding something healthy to their diet? Or giving up movies, but using that hour to volunteer at a local homeless shelter?

Actually, one priest of our church when I was a child actively encouraged this sort of thing. He said that penance was all very well and good, but that he felt it was even better to do something positive also. I bet he'd have approved of your ideas.

I later adopted the custom of a guy I dated in college. He gave up giving up something for Lent.

My understanding of Lent, is that it is to be a time of self-inventory; to this end, one should take add on a good habit, even while seeking to end a bad habit, or to at least take on a penance and know why they're taking on penance - as opposed to doing just because it is traditional to do so at this time of year.

One of the greatest tools ever given to me by the Catholics, is "The Examination of Conscience". I still use it to this day. (The Buddhists have their version too.)

http://www.scborromeo.org/confess.htm