This coming week Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. I encourage all of our parishioners to attend Holy Mass Ash Wednesday. As you know that Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the 40 days of preparation for the Easter season when Christians are called to deepen their spiritual lives through the practices of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. The belief is that our consistent participation in these practices — like exercise we do for our physical health — improves our spiritual well-being by stripping away all that is unnecessary and becoming more mindful of how God is working in our lives. Challenge yourself this year, and go beyond the usual practice of “giving up” something. Now is a great time to take stock of your spiritual life and to grow in it. Not sure where to start?
Check out these 10 ideas:
1. Make a commitment to read the Sunday scriptures before you go to Mass.
2. Sign up for an hour of Eucharist Adoration
3. Think about what you usually spend your money on. Do you buy too many clothes? Spend too much on dinner out? Pick one type of expenditure that you’ll “fast” from during Lent, and then give the money you would usually spend to a local charity.
4. Go to a weekday Mass one day during the week. Daily Masses are often more intimate and shorter than Sunday Mass.
5. Attend the Stations of the Cross somewhere.
6. Spend at least one weekend or evening volunteering during Lent. Serve a meal at soup kitchen. Visit the elderly. Stock shelves at a food pantry.
7. Make a commitment to fast from insensitive, cruel comments about others. So, no gossiping or going down the Twitter rabbit hole.
8. Use the rice bowl to reflect on the realities of people in need around the world and devote prayers, fasting, and almsgiving to changing the lives of the poor.
9. Get to know your neighbors. Introduce yourself, plan a dinner, or bring food to an older person on your block.
10. Celebrate the Sacrament of reconciliation.
