Tips for Having a Holy Lent

Happy Mardi Gras to you all (or Fat Tuesday, if you prefer, although let’s be honest, Mardi Gras sounds much better).

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of Lent.

If you haven’t chosen yet what you’d like to do for Lenten penances, here’s a list of a few ideas you could choose from to make this Lent a fruitful and holy time of growth.

Prayer

~ Add an extra ten minutes of reading the Bible daily

~ Add an extra daily Mass during the week (if you aren’t able to physically go to Mass during the week, you can find a recorded Mass online to watch)

~ Add a daily Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, Stations of the Cross, etc.

~ Try spending time each day deliberately not thinking about yourself, and instead thinking about and being grateful for other people

Fasting

~ Give up your favorite food

~ Give up non-constructive Internet time

~ Give up your favorite show/band/etc.

~ Give up your snooze alarm

 Almsgiving

~ Volunteer at a local soup kitchen, pregnancy help center, etc.

~ Figure out what percentage of your income you give to charity currently and up that amount, even if just by a little bit

~ Give some of your time visiting with relatives or neighbors who don’t get many visitors

~ Use your talents for charity (i.e. sew baby clothes and give them away, play an instrument for residents in a nursing home, make a meal for a struggling family, etc.)

I hope you find some of these helpful as we start on this journey of preparation for Easter.

What are some of your traditions for Lent/Easter? Do you count Sundays in your Lenten penances, or not?

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