Giving up Television to Save your Soul

[Brigid]

Patricia, you are so brave to do this. It is so counter-cultural!

[Shin]

  Congratulations Patricia!!!   

 

[martin]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Welcome to the real world Patricia. So much more to see and enjoy when  not at the mercy of those who wish to decide what you see and here.

May the Lord reward you with many years of unclouded thinking.   

[Patricia]

Thank you all!  At times I feel like sitting in front of the tv, then the temptation leaves because there is nothing there and I just end up doing something more productive.

[Shin]

Without the box the temptation gets weaker and shows itself for what it really is! 

[Patricia]

Benefits of giving up television for me:

1) Sleeping on time. Getting 1-2 hrs extra sleep at night  
2) Children read and write to keep themselves busy. 
3) They use their imagination to play games rather than let the television control their imagination.
4) Family members end up talking more to each other rather than being glued to the box. Even if they are fighting and yelling and laughing it is still communication 
5) When we are free and gravitate toward the tv and realise it is not there we automatically move toward a book and start reading 
6) Extra time to say the Rosary and family prayers. 
7) Homework done readily because there is nothing else to do.
House is cleaner because the extra time is used to clean and keep busy.

I could go on................but I'll stop now 

P.S.  And yes, I'm sure God thinks this is a good spiritual step for me! 

[martin]

Ah Patrcia, you're reaping the benefits already and there's plenty more to come.. 

[susanna]

Greetings everyone.   
I think I will try to give it up for Lent.  You would think that after a bad dream I had about TV, that I would have given it up completely (demon on the screen looking out at viewers.)  But I didn't. 
There isn't much there, but I am kind of hooked on the murder mystery news shows like Dateline. 
Should one give up EWTN also?  Is it just as bad to be glued to the computer for hours?  Not sure.

Thanks.
Glory to Jesus Christ.     

[FrozenConcentrate]

I have a television, but rarely use it. I do still use it on occasion; I like a good football game from time to time, and I'll use it to watch a DVD once in a while (films like The Sound of Music, Jesus of Nazareth, The Passion etc.), but all in all I've pretty much let it go.

To tell you the truth, I've really learned to enjoy silence. I like when things are quiet because it (the silence) provides me with a golden opportunity to grow closer to the Lord. Things like television, a lot of music, computer games etc., disrupt my solitude, and frankly, are flat out irritating these days (I even get a bit agitated when the tenants on the floor beneath me have THEIR television volume turned up to the point where I can hear it).
 
Television, music and most music, seems so empty and lifeless to me anymore. I prefer to have a conversation with Jesus, Mary, different Saints... it seems so much more fulfilling.

None of that happened over night.

I remember praying to Jesus and begging (yes I begged and pleaded) for him in his mercy, to allow me to grow closer to him. Then all of a sudden out of the blue my desire for things like television, music, computer games etc. diminished to the point where they no longer really have a place in my life.

Today I prefer to read the Bible or other material that strengthens my faith and helps it to grow. I've been attending daily mass, and I make an effort to pray the Rosary several times a day (I have the fortune of being retired and I am single with no children, so I have the time to do such things), and I have become a lot more reflective.

But it all started out with an earnest prayer, and a disposition to embrace the silence.

[Patricia]

I observe new graces since I gave up television. I love the lack of noise! 

[odhiambo]

Television, music and most music, seems so empty and lifeless to me anymore. I prefer to have a conversation with Jesus, Mary, different Saints... it seems so much more fulfilling.
None of that happened over night.
I remember praying to Jesus and begging (yes I begged and pleaded) for him in his mercy, to allow me to grow closer to him. Then all of a sudden out of the blue my desire for things like television, music, computer games etc. diminished to the point where they no longer really have a place in my life.
Today I prefer to read the Bible or other material that strengthens my faith and helps it to grow. I've been attending daily mass, and I make an effort to pray the Rosary several times a day (I have the fortune of being retired and I am single with no children, so I have the time to do such things), and I have become a lot more reflective.
But it all started out with an earnest prayer, and a disposition to embrace the silence.

That is just wonderful.
It is true that the closer one draws to God, the less appealing the pleasures of this world. Television, movies and the lot just takes up so much of one's time, there is none left for the Lord.
I had accumulated a lot movies DVDs, literally hundreds. I lost interest in them, unfortunately I had watched many already. I have since given them away to my sister. I guess I should have just destroyed them, but I guess the flesh is still very much stronger than the spirit 
I still have rows of video cassettes in  what I call my study room, not a clue how to dispose of them.

[DianaCatherine]

I've been kind of watching this thread and avoided it a couple of times but just the title alone has had me thinking then today I thought I would read through some of the posts. I am encouraged to give this a try. The quote from Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton was pretty powerful.

Like others have said I do try to watch many old black and white shows but there isn't always good morals in those either.   I imagine I could get a lot more accomplished

[Patricia]

Diana Catherine, that's what I did. Avoided this thread. I made the plunge one day as you can read in my earlier posts. Its been worth it, I must say.

[odhiambo]

I've been kind of watching this thread and avoided it a couple of times but just the title alone has had me thinking then today I thought I would read through some of the posts. I am encouraged to give this a try. The quote from Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton was pretty powerful.
Like others have said I do try to watch many old black and white shows but there isn't always good morals in those either.   I imagine I could get a lot more accomplished

A very important decision you have made there, "to give it a try". You know what they say:" A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" You have taken your first step. I wish you all the best as you journey along.

[Shin]

I had accumulated a lot movies DVDs, literally hundreds. I lost interest in them, unfortunately I had watched many already. I have since given them away to my sister. I guess I should have just destroyed them, but I guess the flesh is still very much stronger than the spirit 
I still have rows of video cassettes in  what I call my study room, not a clue how to dispose of them.

It's a great feeling of freedom to throw things like these away! If you can destroy them, even the give aways, do so!

More than one saint has gathered the people of entire towns for bonfires of material like these.

[Shin]

'Decorum, however, as well as religion, requires that as a Christian, you not allow yourself to sing every sort of song and that you be especially on your guard not to sing indecent songs or those whose words are too explicit or contain double meanings. In a word, it is very unbecoming for a Christian to sing songs that might lead to impiety, that glorify loose living, or that contain expressions and words suggesting that it is an honor and a great pleasure to drink to excess. Besides the fact that it is very uncouth to have these words on your lips, such words might strongly contribute to having someone else fall into such excesses, even if he is not doing so at the moment. Songs can move you with the spirit they contain more strongly than do mere words.'

St. Jean Baptiste de la Salle

'There are amusements that will not be discussed at length here, because they are not at all permitted to Christians, either by the laws of religion or by the rules of decorum. Some of these are ordinarily available only to wealthy people, such as balls, dances, and the comedies of the theater. There are others that are more commonly available to artisans and the poor, such as watching charlatans, clowns, tightrope walkers, puppeteers, and so forth.'

St. Jean Baptiste de la Salle

'Although in the world theater is considered a refined form of amusement, the fact is that it is a shame and an embarrassment to Christianity. In fact, are not those who abandon themselves to this kind of work and make it their profession considered publicly infamous? Can you love a profession that covers with embarrassment those who practice it? Is that art not something infamous and shameful in which the skill of the actors consists in exciting in themselves and in others various shameful passions for which a wellborn person can feel nothing but repulsion?

If there is singing going on, the only airs one hears are those that strengthen these same passions. Is there anything conformable to refinement or to decorum in the costuming, the nudity, and the license taken by actors and actresses? Is there anything in their gestures, their words, and their postures that is not unbecoming for a Christian not only to do but even to see? It is, then, entirely against propriety to take pleasure in this form of amusement.'

St. Jean Baptiste de la Salle