Halloween chocolate bars, Christmas chocolate Advent calendars, St. Patrick’s Day chocolate gold coins, Easter chocolate eggs, and Lent chocolate nothing — all of these are Catholic holidays have some affiliation with chocolate or lack thereof.  

Catholics were marked with ashes Feb. 17 on Ash Wednesday, and many of them made Lenten commitments in hopes of spiritual growth that they plan to keep until Easter Sunday, which takes place on March 27.

According to OpenBible’s Twitter survey about Lenten sacrifices, the most common thing people said they would give up was school. While school is not a realistic sacrifice, the second most popular option was chocolate, which many people end up doing.

Chocolate tends to be a common fast for many Catholics. However, the reasons why people give up the sweet treat usually varies. People may be seeking spiritual growth as they try and free themselves from an addiction that may put a wedge between their relationship with God.  They may do it for health reasons, or a more common reason, because they feel obliged to give up something for Lent, and they give up something they like without really understanding why.

“I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt,” Pope Francis said to Time Magazine.

The pope suggests that people need to do more than give up something simple like food, especially if their sacrifice makes no real impact on them. Instead, people should do something that challenges them more during Lent.

Catholics observe three pillars of Lent— fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.  Giving up chocolate or anything else just focuses on the one aspect of fasting.  While some people may fast, they often forget the proactive elements of Lent such as prayer and almsgiving.

“Just giving up something is called a diet,” Sacred Heart Parish Youth Minister James Cleaton, who was a guest speaker for Cathedral Catholic High School’s retreats, said. “Fasting is giving something up as well as adding in another element.”

Giving up something can be good as long as it involves an action of doing something. For instance, some sacrifices include an opportunity for more actions.

“I gave up my snooze button for Lent,” CCHS student Megan Lowrie ‘16 said.  “I think that during Lent people should focus on doing more.”

By giving up something like extra sleep in the morning, a person can use the extra time to do something else.  Sacrificing the five extra minutes of sleep could easily be exchanged for five extra minutes in prayer.  A sacrifice can include components of both abstinence and action.

Making proactive sacrifices that involve doing an action rather than giving up something serves as another popular option for Catholics.

“For Lent, people should try to do something new instead of giving something up,” Campus Minister Dominique Shepherd ’16 said.

Ultimately, Lent is a time of preparation.  Lent reflects the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert as he prepared for his ministry. Giving up a harmful addiction such as drugs or alcohol surely prepares a person for Easter and to live the call as a Catholic, and it is therefore an admirable Lenten sacrifice. However, Pope Francis challenges us to take action to better the lives of others, in addition to bettering ourselves.

“No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others,” Francis said to Time Magazine. “So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great.”

During morning Mass in the CCHS chapel, Father Michael Ortiz capitalized on the aspect of doing something during Lent for God and others.  He said that he once made a calendar for his Lenten commitment. On the days he did not do something special, he marked a zero on the calendar. On the days he did do something special, he put a cross on the calendar. With that type of awareness, he did something special almost all the days during Lent.

“For Lent, do something special for God,” Fr. Ortiz said.  

Doing something special could be simply extending a small act of kindness like smiling at or greeting a person.

“While it may seem insignificant, it is still an act of charity,” Fr. Ortiz said.

While Lent is a time of preparation for Easter, Catholics’ actions can extend beyond the season.  Similar to New Year resolutions, Lent offers Catholics a time to prepare and create better habits that would lead them closer to God.  When a person decides to pray an extra ten minutes a day for Lent, he or she should still follow through with the commitment even through Ordinary Time.

Lent offers people a chance to develop habits that would further foster their relationship with both their peers, and with God. While it serves as a form of preparation, good habits formed should not be suppressed after the season.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Every liturgy, not just the celebration of the Eucharist, is an Easter in miniature.”

Easter is a time for celebration, and likewise, every Sunday is a small version of Easter. Also, during Lent, each Friday serves as a reminder of Good Friday and Christ’s sacrifice for humanity, which is one of the reasons Catholics fast during Lent.

Before Vatican II, Catholics commonly abstained from meat on every Friday, not just during Lent. Following many other changes after Vatican II, most Catholics stopped fasting. Catholics are still encouraged to offer a small penance or do something on Fridays in remembrance of Good Friday.

While Catholics are not forced to give up anything or even do anything, Lent is a time for one’s spiritual growth.

Treat Lent like a challenge by striving to better yourself and touch the lives of others. End the 40 days as a changed person instead of looking back on the 40 days, seeing nothing has changed.

While the first couple of weeks of Lent have already passed, Catholics can still modify their Lenten commitments, or recommit themselves to their sacrifices for the next four weeks of Lent.

Here are some suggestions for possible Lenten commitments:

“10 Things to Give Up for Lent”

1. Give up grudges. Start on the right foot this Lenten season, and create new relationships with other people.
2. Give up being “right” all the time. Sometimes our strong willed perspectives make us forget about other people and their dignity.
3. Give up the last bite of your meal. Let your hunger remind you of your dependence on God. This commitment also serves as a form of self-discipline.
4. Give up social media. Learn to converse with people face to face instead of through a screen.
5. Give up meat. Stand in solidarity with people who do not have the luxury of such food.
6. Give up mindless games on your phone or iPad. Try interacting with people through actual games.  
7. Give up comfort.  Trying wearing something in your shoes or going shoeless as often as possible to serve as a reminder.  As Pope Benedict said, “The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.”
8. Give up secular music.  Try listening to Christian stations.  Sometimes the media is full of skewed information that we listen to daily, instead, listen to the truth through music.  
9. Give up a certain amount of time of leisure activities like T.V., Netflix, games, or sleep.  Exchange the amount of time given up to do something more productive.  
10. Give up chocolate, but do something else as well.

“10 Things to Do During Lent”

1. Forgive a person every day.  Live out this Year of Mercy through forgiveness and compassion for others.
2. Write 40 affirmation notes.  Let people know the impact that they left on your life.
3. Take a walk and reflect on the beauty of the Earth.  Become aware of God’s creations and observe life around you.
4. Go to morning Mass.
5. Spend 5 minutes a day in front of the Tabernacle.
6. Read and reflect on a new Scripture passage every day.
7. Reflect on the mysteries of Jesus through the Rosary.
8. Pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet daily, which is another way to live out this Year of Mercy.
9. Participate in a Lenten companion guide.  Life teen has an app and structured booklets, guiding young people through this Lenten season.
10. Do something unique and different each day.  With every action performed, offer it up to the Lord.