Frivology

I never really understood these extremely silly religious activities, but I especially don’t understand ones that get warped by humanity’s selfishness like… Lent. 

Traditionally in the Catholic Church, Lent was a time of fasting — defined as abstaining from meat and limiting oneself to one full meal a day, usually around noon. The Lenten fast is intended to recall Jesus’ 40 days of fasting in the desert before he began his public ministry.

Pope Benedict XVI, in his Lenten message this year, called for a renewed commitment to fasting, saying the practice “is a great help to avoid sin,” a way to combat “disordered attachment to ourselves” and a daily reminder that many around the world live in poverty and hunger.

The tradition of fasting led, in modern times, to a broader (if less rigorous) notion of “giving something up” for Lent — if not food, then at least ice cream; if not meat, then at least pepperoni pizza.

via RELIGION Blog | The Dallas Morning News .

So let me get this straight… Jesus walked around in the desert fasting for 40 days and 40 nights… thus, to “honor” him, some idiot in the new world is going to give up Pepperoni Pizza to become less sinful? How do people swallow this crap whole?