Ideas For A Purposeful Season
The season of sacrifice and “fish fry Fridays” is upon us! You know… Lent!
We’re all familiar with the forty days from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday, but do we truly understand why the season is important? If we give up chocolate, junk food, or social media just for the sake of duty or a healthier lifestyle, we are missing the whole boat. There should be a deeper motivation for our outward actions.
Believe it or not, Lent is meant to be reflective of the forty days Christ spent in the desert before entering His public ministry. During this season, we are called to embrace the three pillars of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Practicing self-denial through these three pillars allows us to reorder our lives properly, resist temptation, and turn back to the lives of holiness we are called to as Christians.
The whole point of Lent is to die to ourselves so we can rise closer to God, closer to heaven. In fact, Lent is reflective of what our whole lives should be: a continual turning away from sin and a drawing closer to Christ crucified. The pillars of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving allow us to do this.
St. Augustine once said,
“Fasting and almsgiving are ‘the two wings of prayer’ which enable it to gain momentum and more easily reach God.”
Therefore, when making a Lenten plan, we should incorporate all three pillars. Wherever you are in your spiritual life- whether you’re already a devout Catholic/Christian, or completely new to religion in general, you can create a three-pillar Lenten plan that works for your spiritual life and leads you to grow from where you are right now.
Today, we are sharing some of our favorite ideas for praying, fasting, and giving so that you can develop a Lent plan tailored for YOU. We suggest being realistic with your plan, perhaps picking one or two ideas from each category to interchange throughout the season. Mix it up, stay diligent, and keep your heart focused on Christ crucified.
PRAY
“You don’t know how to pray? Put yourself in the presence of God, and as soon as you have said, ‘Lord, I don’t know how to pray!’ you can be sure you’ve already begun.”
St. Josemaria Escriva
- Pray morning/nightly. New to prayer? Start small by praying a morning offering everyday when you wake up and making an examination of conscience each night before bed.
- Spend 10 minutes in silence a day. Active in your faith, but find yourself so busy that you never spend quiet time with Jesus? Set a time each day to just sit and share your heart with Our Lord. See how your heart is transformed and soul filled with peace.
- Journal. This is one of my favorite ways to pray. Last year, I used the Blessed is She Lenten journal and loved it, but any old journal will do. Use your quiet time to share your soul with God on paper. (LINK)
- Attend daily mass or holy hour. Want to develop a deeper love for Christ fully present in the Eucharist?! No better way to do that than spend time with Him. Look at your parish’s times for daily Mass and adoration.
- Pray a rosary or divine mercy chaplet every day. Both great ways to develop a deeper relationship with our Lord- one through walking with His Mother, the other through meditating on His Divine Mercy.
- Read a good spiritual book. There are many great books you can read to act as your spiritual guide through Lent. Some of our suggestions are found here.
- Read a chapter of the Bible every day. What better way to enter into a deeper relationship with the One who created you than meditating on His Word?
- Pray for someone different every day. My friend did this one time. She picked 40 different people she wanted to pray for, assigned them to a specific day, and texted them before Lent, asking how she could pray for them. Genius.
- Pray the stations of the cross. Great devotion to allow us to enter fully into the Passion of Christ.
- Look up your parishes Lenten services/programs. Each Catholic parish already creates Lenten services and programs to help parishioners enter in the season more fully. Look up what your parish offers and attend the services! Confession, talks, retreats, etc. are just some of the awesome things to take advantage of!
FAST
- From secular music! Listen only to Christian music. It’s kind of crazy how this actually transforms our minds and what we think about during the day.
- From social media- I’ve done this one several for several Lenten seasons throughout college and always found it rejuvenated my soul and left me free for more Jesus time.
- From television/Netflix. Use that time to pray, read a good spiritual book, or spend time with loved ones.
- From speeding- I dated a guy once who gave up driving over the speed limit during Lent. For all of you who struggle with road rage, maybe this will help you practice patience. 😉
- From eating out- My roommates last year did this one, and I have mad respect. It’s a great way to save money. Maybe you can give your savings to your favorite charity! If time for cooking is an issue, maybe look into meal prepping on the weekends.
- From complaining/gossiping/swearing- Pick whatever vice you struggle with. Keep a jar and add a quarter every time you catch yourself complaining, gossipping, or swearing. At the end of Lent, donate this money to your favorite charity or the Church!
- From shopping. If you’re a shopaholic, this might be a good one for you. Only buy things you need- food, gas, etc. during Lent. Say no to yourself and practice self-denial.
GIVE
- Clean out the closet! Pick one item for every day of lent. Donate the used items to your local St. Vincent de Paul Society or send them to a mission that may be needing used clothing items.
- Donate to a favorite mission/charity. Pick a specific charity or mission you are passionate about and figure out a way you can help out during lent. Maybe it’s sending money or supplies, or maybe it’s physically volunteering with them.
- Evangelize. Reach out to family or friends who maybe aren’t super invested in their faith or who would like to grow more, but don’t know how. Sometimes a simple invitation is the only push they need!
- Go out of your way for people. Maybe pick a specific person in your life each day of Lent and figure out a way to make that day better for them. Maybe it’s sending them an uplifting text, praying for them, or performing an act of charity for them.
STAY DILIGENT
You might stumble along the way. You’ll probably mess up a day here or there. That’s okay. Stay diligent, be patient with yourself and remember that this season is part of a lifelong journey to heaven. It’s not always going to be pretty.
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12)
From the depths of my soul,
