When Jesus was in the desert for 40 days, he gave up food and water. He gave up food and water to prepare for the ministry God has prepared for him. I am not asking you to give up food or water but to give up something you really love. The devil tried to tempt Jesus into eating and drinking, as he knew he would give it up. He said to him, “Turn that rock into bread, so you can eat it”. Jesus did not listen and he kept his Lenten promise.

Lent begins on February 18 and goes until April 5 this year. For Lent you do not have to give up an object, you can also give a behavior. People think that for Lent you are supposed to give objects of things because Jesus did, but you can give up other things like not listening or gossiping. You can give up many things.

Pope Francis said on February 18, 2015, “No need to throw out the chocolate, booze, and carbs, we can give up our indifference towards each other”. “Fasting must never become superficial. No matter how much time we spend fasting, no matter how much we sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if we do no good to others, we do nothing great.”

I think people who drink beer will like this Pope as he is telling them to continue drinking. But there is a catch, he says, drink and be good to others. I would translate this message as:

  • Let there be peace, let’s love each other despite our religion and political differences
  • Stop the bad behavior – be nice and kind to other people
  • Let’s be more patient to each other (especially to the watotos – wait for your turn)
  • Stop lying- tell the truth even if it puts you in trouble
  • No more jealously- be happy for others in their achievements
  • Stop polluting our world with bitterness- be more kind and refresh the world with kindness

I hope you have all given up something that will make you happy and others too. When you give up something like a bad behavior, after Lent, you can still keep and try not the be bad.

Angela-Acaye.