Giving up radio/music for Lent

It's Ash Wednesday once again and another season of Lent begins. Everyone always wonders what us Catholics are going to give up it seams so I figured I'd post my Lenten penance here. For a number of years now I've been giving up listening to the radio on my commute to and from work as well as listening to music on my iPod. I listen to a lot of talk radio (mostly sports and news) and love cranking the tunes on my iPod so giving them up for 40 days is not that easy. Especially since sports talk radio is just starting to have more programming about my favorite team, the Minnesota Twins.

Many people give up sweets, soda pop or try to kick a bad habit so why do I give up something that isn't really harming me? The answer is that while it doesn't harm me to listen to music or the radio, it really is just a luxury that I enjoy. Everyone's different and for some people this wouldn't be a sacrifice at all so you have to know yourself. I think the whole idea of giving up something is that by purposefully setting something aside from your life you can have more room for Jesus. Really giving something up is only half of the deal. The other half is replacing it with something that helps you grow spiritually in your relationship with the Lord. So my hope is that I will take some of that time that I would have been listening to music and the radio and pray more, read the scriptures and just listen to what God is saying in my heart.

As difficult as I find Lent to be at times, I don't remember a year that it hasn't helped me grow and to be honest I find I really need it to refocus my life and priorities on what is important. Sure growing can be a painful process but the renewed joy and peace is totally worth it. And I do have plenty of room for growth, so here's to hopefully another successful Lent.