TV-less Friday wins advocates

With the Easter season about to end on Pentecost, would you mind going back toward its beginning, specifically to Good Friday?

In my column for that week, I invited readers to join me in giving up TV for the 24 hours of Good Friday as a small sign of our willingness to sacrifice as Jesus did, as a practical means of spending more time in prayer and spiritual reading, and as a minor attempt at cutting back our daily attention to the tube.

After laying down some minimal rules (no videotaping for later viewing, for example), I invited readers to share with me and others what happened to them during their TV-less Good Friday. Here are some of the responses I received:

* From a woman in Texas: "I grew up spending Good Friday without television and radio. We were not allowed to sing or express joy too loudly. At 3 p.m., the family would kneel together and pray the Rosary. I have continued this tradition with my children. Around 2:15, we start reading the Bible from the Last Supper until Jesus is brought down from the cross. The phone is unplugged. We all have our rosaries, and we all take turns reading and praying. It is important to me that my children understand what Jesus sacrificed. One day without television is minor in comparison [to what Jesus did], but I know my children will remember."

* From an Illinois reader: "What an inspiration your column was! I joined a TV-less Good Friday in honor of my father, who allowed no music in our home on that day. Even the old upright piano stayed closed."

* From a New Yorker: "Consider advising [people to watch] a videotape of 'Jesus of Nazareth' on Good Friday. Our family doesn't watch much TV, but we try to make it a tradition to watch at least the first half of 'Jesus of Nazareth' in December and the second half at Easter."

* From a Midwesterner: "There is no TV in my home Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday. I'm not a religious fanatic, but I think the spirituality in our home is special in those days."

* From a Chicagoan: "I unplugged my set two years ago and haven't watched it since. I find that it gives me more time to grow spiritually closer to the Lord by attending daily Mass and reading about the saints. I thought that giving up TV would be difficult, but I have not had the desire to watch it again. On Good Friday, I go to the Stations of the Cross and attend a Passion Play at my church. Good Friday should be spent in prayer and meditation rather than in being distracted by television."

* From another Texan: "I was thrilled about your 'no-TV Good Friday' suggestion. I recommend a 'non-TV Lent.' My husband and I were 99 percent successful in making that happen. The peace and quiet has been a blessing, as has the quality time to talk, pray, and read Scripture and other inspirational literature. The greatest blessing is not having the daily dose of the world's ills blaring out at you from the TV."

* From an upstate New York woman: "I stuck to it; it was pleasant; I would do it again and would advise others to try it. The extra Bible reading and prayers made me feel like putting a little more of both into my routine. I don't think I'll go back to the way things used to be."

Thanks to all who wrote about their experience with a TV-less Good Friday. If you found it rewarding, remember this: You can do it any day of the week, any week of the month, any month of the year.

(05-15-97) [[In-content Ad]]