A Lenten Promise

What is this Lenten promise that I would actually blog about? After approaching a friend about Ash Wednesday girl immediately after the mass, he challenged me to join in his Lenten promise; what did he give up? The pursuit of women.

Now despite Ash Wednesday girl, there hasn't been very much pursuit in my life (don't worry, there's no need to call the doctor's-- I already did and he said it's normal for most people.) I considered this sacrifice but didn't understand what purpose giving up the pursuit of women would serve for me. My friend then explained how when perceiving women, they would be less of an objective and be seen as a person [who has eyes.]

I don't necessarily have this problem
I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I'd like to believe that my pursuit of women has pure intentions and that I view women with dignity and respect. I kinda saw this Lenten promise as pointless and that I would gain little from it. I sought council with my friends.

He really does have a sense of humor.
After talking to a good friend about this Lenten promise on retreat, I still found no purpose. "Dibs" (the gorgeous girl from this entry, which I will explain in a future entry) was present on the retreat; she was gorgeous and not to mention a good Catholic girl; not pursuing her would have been idiotic. With Lenten promise on the back burner and the fact that I was leading a retreat, I opted not to pursue her (but I definitely thought about it.)

While leading the retreat, I had been contemplating the situation of the Lenten promise while struggling with the gorgeous "Dibs" being present at the retreat. We finally had an activity that would give direction to my decision.

The activity consisted of pulling out a rock with a virtue that we would work on: patience, humility, etc…  I walked over to the pile of rocks. I reached for the first one easily available, but last minute changed my mind and was drawn to a rock wedged between two others. I looked at the rock and slowly read the capital letters written in black bold sharpie "NO DATING" I was in shock!!! Is that even a virtue?!?!

I'm just kidding, my rock had the virtue of purity. At that point I knew I was supposed to take that Lenten promise with my friend. With the help of "Dibs" I figured out the Lenten promise's purpose: instead of focusing on the retreat at times, I would think of things to say to her or how I would approach her. I came to the conclusion then (with the aid of my trusty purity rock) that my thoughts could be purer. While in class, instead of focusing on the girl three rows in front of me, I could actually pay attention (that doesn't sound bad right?!? well reread the sentence and replace the aforementioned class/rows with mass/pews)

So add this on to my list of Lenten challenges and if you are reading this, I ask that you pray for me please. If you know me, you know I'll need it.