Giving Up? 7 New Ideas For A Life-changing Lent
Tired of giving up chocolate? Do you want to see real change in your life by Easter? Try one of these ideas as a Lenten practice.
ONE –– Visit your family. As a priest, I see many men and women fading slowly into meaninglessness in nursing homes. Their children have stopped coming. Grandchildren and nieces don’t know they are there. These people feel forgotten and unloved. Almost everyone has a family member who cannot get out. During Lent, visit your parent, great aunt, cousin or another family member every Sunday after Mass, and take along someone else in your family.
TWO –– Install ‘Covenant Eyes’ on every electric device in your life. Statistically speaking, at least one person in your family is struggling with online sexual content. That struggle is shame-ridden and heavy for so many people. The $16 spent to protect every device in your household each month is well worth it. Increase the purity of body—and soul—for you and your family with Covenant Eyes this Lent.
THREE –– Take shorter showers. Pope Francis often reminds us to care for the environment, which God created and calls ‘good’ (Gen 1:31). Shower timers can be purchased for $10. Not only will a four or five minute timer help lower your water bill, it is good for the planet and is a strong ascetic Christian practice.
FOUR –– Confess weekly. Even if you ‘don’t feel like you have much to say,’ facing the Lord and examining your conscience each week will certainly turn up defects. If you were to clean your car weekly, you would certainly begin to find dirty places you had never noticed before. Same with Confession. You might even find that your ‘big’ sins decrease because you are attending to ‘smaller’ ones.
FIVE –– Grow in faith. Take 7 minutes to read 3-5 pages of a spiritual book every day. Young people, start with St. John Paul the Great by Evert. Moms, I think you’ll like One Beautiful Dream by Fulwiler. Fathers, check out Show Us the Father by Schadt. At 3-5 pages per day, you will finish a great, new book by Easter!
SIX –– Give unto others. Find one thing to give away each day of Lent. We all have too many things in our garages, basements, and closets. Physically cleaning things out spills over into cleaning things out spiritually. Whatever you give to another, you give to Christ himself (Mt 25:40), and perhaps you should give away even a few things you really do like having.
SEVEN –– Adore the Lord. Find a parish or chapel near you that is always open or that offers adoration times. Then, go at least three days a week for 10 minutes each day. Physically going somewhere to pray helps your mind and heart get away from other things, and being in the Presence of the Lord will work wonders. If you’re near Evansville, come Monday night to Sacred Heart Church for our 6:30p.m. Central Time Holy Hour with hundreds of others who attend.
Lent is about a spiritual training that opens ourselves to the transformational power of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Make this Lent life-changing with a life-changing practice.
Father Tenbarge is Associate Pastor of St. Boniface Parish in Evansville. He also serves as Associate Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Evansville.
