Catholic Feminine Genius

Lent Ideas: 10 best practices to take on during Lent

As a follow up to the most difficult things to give up for Lent, I am posting 10 of the best ideas I’ve experienced or ideas that my friends have experienced. Now this list is no joke. If you really want to start thinking about developing a very deep relationship with God, these things would be a great place to start. Also, there’s no better time to start than with the practice of Lent.

A word of warning: Once you begin a deeper relationship with Christ, things will start to change. I don’t mean bad things will happen to you. I don’t even mean that good things will happen to you. What I’m saying is that when you truly decide to pick up your cross and follow Christ, the world will look different. Maybe for some of you already know what I’m talking about. If you don’t get it, my message box is always open.

Okay, no more delay. 10 best practices to take on during Lent (in my humble opinion)

1. Pray the rosary everyday. - One of my favorite priests, Fr. Jeremy Leatherby, said that when he dedicated his family to the rosary, the way they related with one another changed. That’s probably oversimplifying it, but it does illustrate the point that there’s power in saying the rosary. When St. Pio was on earth he would always ask for his weapon, the rosary. Oh I could go on and on, but I think I’ll leave it at that for now and come back to this subject in October ;)

2. Go to confession regularly. - Reconciliation is called a Sacrament of Healing for a reason. If you want to run to God, get those sins out of your way! While it’s true that we’ve been ask to go to confession at least twice a year, that should not stop you from taking advantage of this sacrament! I’ve heard that some spiritual directors suggest going every two weeks. For others, it may be once a month. We can argue about how many times is better, but don’t miss the point here: go to confession.

3. Visit the Blessed Sacrament an hour each day. - Have you ever just sat there and wondered about the love of God? Just sit in His presence and think about why an all-powerful God would step out of eternity and into our time to be veiled in bread and wine just for us to consume. The God who created the universe, who knew you before you were even born, just sits there waiting for you to visit Him in the tabernacle. Reflect on that for 40 days!

4. Be silent. - Earlier this year, Pope Benedict reminded us about the value of silence. He said that silence brings more meaning to what we say. Remember when Elijah listened for the voice of God and found in it a whisper? A break in our talking allows God to speak. This goes for electronic noise and music. Stop the noise and listen for grace.

5. Read a Catholic book. - God has definitely blessed quite a few authors with the gift of writing. Allow someone to explain the Faith to you in a different light. Maybe you’ll pick up a book tailored to the season of Lent. Maybe you’ll pick up a biography of a Saint. Do me a favor though. When you pick up a Catholic book to read, look for these phrases in the inside cover: Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur. These respectively mean ‘nothing hinders’ and ‘let it be printed.’ These mean that the book contains nothing contrary to the faith and morals of the Catholic Church.

6. Learn about a Saint each day. - Have you ever read about the lives of Saints? It’s so fun to see how ordinary people like you and I have gone through life, struggled like us, and reached heaven. Learning about Saints doesn’t have to come from books alone. There are also online resources like…um…Tumblr! Now I’m not one to promote particular blogs, but I do know of a blog who explains the lives of Saints in a delightful twist… no names though…

7. Read your favorite Bible stories every day. - When I say read the Bible, I don’t mean just go to Mass (because you know, contrary to popular belief, Sacred Scripture is aaaaaalllll over our Mass). Go open, close the door, sit in your room with a Bible in hand. Start with your favorite Old Testament stories: Jonah and the whale, Daniel and the lion, Tobias and Archangel Raphael. Then move onto the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. During Holy Week, read and reflect on the Passion of Our Lord. Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ. (St. Jerome - who by the way is commonly painted with a cardinal’s hat, but was never a cardinal, and a lion whose paw he supposedly took a thorn out of, but probably didn’t. See how exciting Saints can be? Go back to number 6!)

8. Pray a novena every nine days. - Start on Ash Wednesday with one novena. When that novena ends, start another one. Intense? Yes. Possible? Oh yeah. Offer up each novena for a different intention. Here’s a website full of novenas.

9. Gather up money during Lent to donate to a Catholic charity. - Place a jar on your work desk or drawer at home. Every day put a little change in there. Maybe you’ll put money you would have used to buy Starbucks. Maybe you have loose change from when you bought your lunch. Whatever it is, put the money in the jar. At the end of 40 days, donate the money to a Catholic charity. I say Catholic because you have to be careful about where your money goes these days. You might inadvertently donate to Planned Parenthood (via nice organizations like Susan G. Komen, Girl Scouts, American Cancer Society). Catholic Relief Services has a beautiful way you can do this through a program called Operation Rice Bowl. They provide you with a Lenten calendar and recipes from the countries you could donate to.

10. Go to daily Mass. - For some people this may be very difficult. Daily Mass times might be during school. It may be too early in the morning. If you can’t go, then you can’t. Still make sure you go on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. But if going to daily Mass means getting up a little earlier or taking your lunch time at another time, then a little sacrifice is what we need in Lent. Once one realizes the blessings and graces that occur in the miracle of bread and wine becoming the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus through the holy sacrifice of the Mass, going to Mass is no longer a chore but a privilege for our human selves.

There are many many more things I can suggest to you like praying the Angelus, going on a pilgrimage, or doing volunteer work. This blog is not meant to contain all the ways to get to Christ. This blog is a springboard for you to dive deeper into your relationship with God in the Lenten season.

May I suggest one more thing? In whatever you choose to do this Lenten season, keep a journal of your journey. That way when you find yourself falling deeper in love with God, you can write your love songs to him in a safe space. And then when you fall into spiritual dry spells, your journal will be an oasis of God’s love.

May you have a blessed Lent.