1. Get up earlier than anyone else in your house and spend your first 15 minutes of the day thanking God for the gift of life and offering your day to Him.
2. Get to daily Mass.
3. If you can’t do Mass daily, go to Mass on Fridays in addition to Sundays and thank the Lord for laying his life down for you. Maybe you can go another time or two as well.
4. Spend some time in Eucharistic Adoration at least one time during the week.
5. Recover the Catholic tradition of making frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament throughout the week, even if it is only for five minutes.
6. Get to Confession at least once during Lent after making a good examination of conscience. If you are not sure why confession is important, get the leaflet in the Sacristy.
7. Make a decision to read at least some Scripture every day. Starting with today’s.
8. Even if you can’t get to daily Mass, get a daily Catholic Missal or go online to get a list of the readings used each day in Mass, and read these readings daily.
9. Pray the Liturgy of the Hours. You can buy a one volume edition or a full four volume edition. Or you can get it day by day online for free at www.universalis.com.
10. Get to know the saints of the Church and read about their lives to inspire your life today.
11. Make the Stations of the Cross each Friday either with a group or by yourself. If you have kids, bring them.
12. Pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary often during Lent. especially on Fridays and Wednesdays. The Glorious Mysteries are especially appropriate on Sundays. Joyful and Luminous mysteries are great on other days.
13. If you’ve never done a family rosary, begin doing it. If starting with once a week, try Friday or Sunday. If it’s tough to start with a full five decades, try starting with one.
14. Make it a habit to stop at least five times a day, raise your heart and mind to God, and say a short prayer such as “Jesus, I love you,” or “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” or “Lord, I offer it up for you.”
15. Pray each day for the intentions and health of the Holy Father.
16. Pray each day for your bishop and all the bishops of the Catholic Church.
23. Pray for a just peace in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Holy Land and elsewhere. Pray for our troops and for others in harm’s way.
24. Find a form of fasting that is appropriate for you, given your age, state of health, and state of life. Some fast on bread and water on Wednesdays and Fridays. Some fast from sweets or alcohol throughout Lent.
25. Some cut out all snacks between meals. The money saved from not buying various things should be given to an apostolate or ministry serving the physically or spiritually poor.
26. Prayer is like breathing – you have to do it continually. But sometimes you need to pause and take a very deep breath.
27. Find a written biography of a Saint that particularly appeals to you, and read it during lent.
28. Instead of secular DVDs for weekend entertainment, try some DVDs that will enrich your spiritual life. ‘Suggestions: Jesus of Nazareth, by Franco Zeffirelli, The Scarlet and the Black, the Assisi Underground.
29. While driving, turn off the radio for awhile and use commute time to listen to some teaching on audiocassette or CD.
30. Visit someone at a nursing home or in the hospital or sick at home. Again, love Jesus in and through the suffering person.
31. Is there a widow or divorced person living in your neighbourhood? If so, invite that person to your home for dinner, coffee, etc.
32. View Met Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ during Lent on VHS or DVD, if you feel you can handle the violence. Get a copy of The Guide to the Passion.
33. Spend some focused time with your spouse, strengthening your marriage. Start praying together, or make praying more frequent.
34. Spend some focused time together with each of your children. Listen. Pray.
35. Telephone a family member that you haven’t seen in a long time and meet up with them.
36. Make sure that you say an evening and morning prayer every night of the week. The morning prayer is the key to the day, the evening prayer is the lock for the night.
37. Make Good Friday a really special day, where you prove your love for Jesus Christ, who gave his life for you.
38. Make sure that you attend the Easter Vigil, which is the most important Mass of the whole year.
38. Make sure that you attend the Easter Vigil. which is the most important Mass of the whole year.
39. Invite someone who hasn’t been to Mass for a long time and ask them to come to the Easter Sunday Mass.
40. Make Lent a time for forgiveness. Forgive anyone who has hurt you, and learn to forgive yourself.
Thanks for this list goes to Father Duncan McVicar, Parish Priest, St Peter in Chains, Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland. http://www.saintpeterinchains.net/
Prayer for Lent. Almighty and Everlasting God You have given the human race Jesus Christ, our Saviour as a model of humility. He fulfilled Your Will by becoming Man And giving His life on the Cross. Help us to bear witness to You By following His example of suffering And make us worthy to share in His Resurrection. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son. Amen.
Our Father…
Mary, Mother of Jesus, you were Jesus’ gift for us from the Cross. He gave you to us as our Mother. Intercede for all our needs.
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…