Lent is often a time of dread for many people because they feel the need to give up something that is very hard to live without. However, Lent is a time meant to turn away from sin and grow closer to God. The Church encourages us to do this through three disciplines; prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The 2015 Lenten theme for Sacred Heart is “Keep Calm and Let it Go.” Lent does not necessarily mean giving something up. As Sr. Lany Jo has suggested, it can be fasting from judging people, complaining, or being negative. It can be saying an extra prayer every day to strengthen your relationship with God or doing something nice for someone else.
As we know, Lent has certain requirements pertaining to fasting and the consumption of meat. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Catholics between the ages of 18-59 are required to fast. In addition, Catholics over the age of 14 are required to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday as well as all the other Fridays of Lent. Although typically associated with food, fasting does not always mean abstaining from certain foods. Fasting can also mean not using your phone as much or not listening to music while doing your homework. Sr. Elizabeth has looked at fasting the way that Pope Francis describes it, which is doing something that unsettles you as opposed to something that makes you feel good about yourself. She suggests, “Turn your phone off at night and don’t turn it back on until after school the next day. How does it feel to be ‘disconnected’? I think that we are very addicted to the need to feel connected via our phones and social media. By fasting from these things, most of us feel very unsettled, very insecure.” Certainly, do not feel obligated to do this every day. By all means, you can change what you are fasting from daily, but do try to challenge yourself this Lent and let go.
Prayer during Lent is important to strengthen our relationship with God. This can be accomplished in many ways, whether it be saying an extra prayer each day or remembering people that are being prayed for in school and in your local parish. At school, the rosary is prayed in the small chapel after school every Thursday. In addition, many parishes offer a “little black book” during Lent which is full of daily meditations and prayers. Another way to think about prayer throughout Lent is to pick a word each day such as hope or forgiveness. Meditate on this word and pray for people that may be struggling with it. One can include their family into prayer, too. Maybe once a week you can pray together as a family or attend the Stations of the Cross at your local parish. As many of us know, singing is praying twice. Some may feel it is “uncool”to sing at Mass or maybe you can’t sing. Next time you go to Church, participate in some of the singing like the responsorial psalm or closing hymn. God does not care if you cannot sing well, but He would like it if you worshipped in that way in spite of it.
Almsgiving, or service, is the third discipline of Lent. This is the aspect of Lent that can really bring a family closer together if they are open to it. In some ways, it is the most important part because we are doing for others which is what Jesus preached. Getting your family involved during Lent can be hard because everyone is always so busy. I know that my family is lucky if we can have one dinner together a week. At dinner or during the car ride to school, ask your mom or dad what they are doing for Lent or if they are giving anything up. Then, you can further the conversation and suggest a service activity that you can do together. It can be volunteering at the local food bank once a week or making cards for people living at retirement or nursing homes. Sr. Elizabeth also suggests turning the TV off one night during the week so you can do something as a family. If you want to work on service by yourself, start by reviewing your day and think of places where you could have helped someone instead of checking Twitter or procrastinating on your homework.
There are many suggestions in this article as to how to participate in all of the disciplines during Lent, fasting, prayer and almsgiving, and even how to include one’s family. If this is all too much information, there is a 2015 Lenten Calendar that gives a suggestion each day. It rotates among the three disciplines and is made for families. “Simply talk to them about making these six weeks a special time of preparation for Easter and come up with an idea that you can all agree on,” says Ms. Scaramella. Make this Lent a time of growth and “other-centeredness,” and you will hopefully be more refreshed and peaceful by Easter Sunday.