David Ancell / Wednesday, March 01, 2006 / Comments(0)
A 12-year-old student did her science fair project on the cleanliness of the ice in the fast food restaurants. Interestingly enough, she compared the bacteria content with that of the toilet water. Which had less bacteria? Well, it was the toilet water. By the way, the ice had more fecal bacteria than the toilet water.
Granted, this is a science fair project done by a 12-year-old. The results can only be taken so far. However, this is still darn scary. Then again, I never liked putting ice in my drinks. The stuff is usually cold without ice, and the restaurants will put ten dollars worth of ice in your cup to save money.
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David Ancell / Wednesday, March 01, 2006 / Comments(0)
Before I start in on this one, it may be good to mention my 2004 article on penance. As I said in the article, there are people who advocate that giving up something for Lent is outmoded, and we should really “do something” for Lent. There are other variations on this as well.
I have sometimes thought that I wish that I could just eat whatever I want and not have to observe this discipline. I wanted to be “free” of it. However, not being able to control my appetite is not freedom. If I truly have Christian freedom, I will be able to give up things of this world, even good things, that I do not need.
I heard it said that if someone gives up, for example, chocolate, they get used to it in a couple weeks. Supposedly, it’s not as meaningful by then. I’ve had this experience, but I know that this really represents a kind of growth in freedom and detachment. I may like what I gave up, but I am free to give it up. It doesn’t own me.
Giving up something for Lent is spiritual exercise. We exercise the freedom we have in Christ so that it grows stronger. It is this freedom that allows us to remove anything that becomes an obstacle to our life in Christ.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Wednesday, March 01, 2006 / Comments(0)
I guess you could say I got an Ash Wednesday present. Just minutes ago, I got an e-mail telling me about the new Francis Cardinal Arinze podcast. Well, it’s actually a blog and podcast, and it even has video on it. I’m sure that His Emminence isn’t blogging on his own, but someone is collecting news about him and his talks and making them available. Given that Cardinal Arinze is one of my heroes, I’m glad to see that there is a place where I can find out what he is saying.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized