Tis the season

Well, it's that time again. Yep, it's Lent. I know, I know it's not the season you thought I meant. It's time for my Lenten sacrifice. This year I thought I would try something different.

Usually Lenten sacrifice is about denial. I won't smoke; I won't drink; I'll give up...fill in the blank. That is such a negative but that's how I was raised. Often being Catholic is about abstinence. I guess the theory is the harder we make it on ourselves the more repentant we shall be. I suppose the theory is good, but I wanted a more positive approach this year.

Now, I'm not exactly a 'getting to Mass' kinda guy. In fact it has been many years since that has happened. I can blame it on work or other such things but I have just generally fallen away from that part of my faith. It's not that I don't try to live by the tenets of my religion, I try to be the best I can every day.

No, this year due to my failings of living the ecumenical life, I have decided to listen to my local Catholic radio station every day on my drive either to work or home. My travels are at least thirty minutes each way so it's not like I'm ducking out. I have actually found myself wanting to listen more often. Now, I'm not one to listen to preachers. If you start quoting Bible passages that's the quickest way for me to flip the switch back to sports radio. So far however, most of the programing I have heard discusses some Catholic traditions, theory and practices. Much of this I have heard at some point in my life but I have developed a renewed interest in names and places. So far, no Bible pounding, thankfully.

For now we'll see how it goes. So far so good. Hey, at least I didn't give up candy again.