Ideas for Observing Lent

OBSERVING LENT

DURING LENT MANY CHRISTIANS OBSERVE SOME FORM OF FASTING OR SELF-DENIAL. This is not only a way to strengthen our will, but also helps us to simplify our lives. When we eat less, we realize that we normally consume more than we need for health and well-being. This may lead us to consider simplifying our lives in other ways. Here are some possibilities, you can think of many more. Choose those that seem most meaningful and appropriate for you.

• Give up something you value, to remind you of what Jesus gave up for you.
• Try to live more simply in all areas of your life: watch less TV, walk instead of driving, observe a quiet period each day.
• Go through your closets and give away clothes that are still in good condition, but that you could do without.
• Clean your home and use spring cleaning to reflect on your spiritual renewal.
• Cook and eat a dish that you always avoid, not necessarily because it repels you but because it is “foreign” and you tend to limit yourself to the familiar.
• Listen to some music you normally can’t “get into.” Wonder if it resonates with something in you, and might not be so bad after all.
• Treat yourself to a meal of rice and tea once a week as a physical sign of concern with the real majority, the hungry world.
• Give up movies or forego some favorite sports events.
• Choose simpler, more healthful meals: less meat, no dessert.
• Do without between meal snacks.
• Give up desserts.
• Eliminate wasteful and expensive habits.
• Drink only water with your meals for one week.
• Eliminate snacking and junk food.
• Give up an hour of TV each day for scripture reading, prayer and reflection.
• Clean house and give unneeded items to charity.
• Give up one big meal a week and donate the money saved to help feed the hungry.
• Serve meat half as often as usual.
• Once or twice a week serve a simple meal that consists of soup or salad, bread, and a beverage.

LENT IS A TIME FOR PRAYER AND REFLECTION. By setting aside special times for prayer and reflection during Lent we give ourselves the opportunity of learning more about ourselves and our relationship to God.

· Pray the Psalms or use a devotional guide to choose Lenten prayers.

· Think about attitudes and behavior patterns that you need to change. Pray for help in changing them.

· Make prayer a daily habit. Set aside a quiet time when interruptions are unlikely.

· Reflect on the importance of Jesus in your life.

· Accept difficulties patiently. Through reflection, try to understand them. Through prayer, try to accept them.

· Write a short Lenten prayer to add to grace at meals.

· Resolve to work on a virtue or correct a fault.

· Pray for those you know are suffering.

· Spend time alone today reflecting on your need for God’s grace.

· Pray for forgiveness for past judgments of others.

· Make a special effort to practice the Golden Rule.

· Make a special point to attend church services each Sunday during Lent.

· Pray especially that those who have abandoned their faith will experience a renewal of belief.

· Pray for the patience and the courage to develop your gifts.

· Make a cross-shaped collage of scenes of suffering and violence. Resolve to do something to join in Jesus’ work of healing. Save this cross to redecorate for Easter with scenes of life and love.

· Draw a picture of your face and write all the things you do to “save face.” Try a week or a day without any face-saving activities.

· Spend time today reflecting on how Jesus’ love and teachings affect your life.

· Each day for a week pray for a different neighbor or friend.

· Look through the newspaper or listen to the news to identify someone who may be suffering. Pray for that person.

· Plant seeds or bulbs indoors and as they grow think of how you grow in God’s love.

· Give thanks for a talent or skill that you have.

· Pray for world peace.

· Each day for a week pray for a different member of your family.

· Reflect on your faith and trust in God.

· Give thanks for God’s forgiveness and grace.

· Reflect on your baptism and what it means for your life.

· Take 15 minutes and think about a world problem – war, hunger, pollution, drug abuse – until you are ready to “give up.” Read T. S. Elliot’s poem The Hollow Men. Then in faith, pray slowly the Lord’s Prayer.

CHRISTIAN STUDY AND WORSHIP ARE BOTH IMPORTANT LENTEN ACTIVITIES. Christian study will help strengthen our faith and increase our understanding. Attending the special church activities and worship services offered during this season helps to renew our sense of community and deepen our faith.

· Keep a Lenten journal of struggles, successes, feelings and discoveries.

· Make Sunday a special day reserved for the Lord and your family.

· Read the Bible daily, especially the Gospels. Discuss your readings with family and friends.

· Participate in religious education or Bible study classes.

· Read a book that will contribute to your spiritual growth.

· Set aside some time to write each day, focusing on how Jesus’ love and teachings affect your thoughts, feelings and actions.

· Read your favorite story about Jesus and think about what it means for your life.

· Start a Lenten prayer and study group with a few friends. Set aside a special time each week to meet together to pray and read and discuss Bible passages.

· Read a book or article about a world problem that you tend to dismiss or that you blame on the media for enlarging beyond proportion.

· Attend the special Lenten church services: Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday communion, and Good Friday service.

· Read a book about Christian meditation.

· Write a statement of your beliefs and think about how these beliefs are reflected in your life.

· Make a Days of Lent Prayer Book – a book with just 40 pages on which you write, or draw, or copy something that has special meaning for you during this season.

· Read a book by an inspirational author such as Thomas Merton or Catherine Marshall.

· Make a special point of attending church services each Sunday during Lent.

· List ten top priorities in your life. Determine the amount of time, energy, money used for each. Can and should there be a shift?

· Plan how you will continue in the spirit of Lent after the season is over.

DURING LENT WE ARE CALLED TO DO WORKS OF CHARITY. What we do will depend on age, situation, and many other factors. But no matter what our circumstances, we can find ways of reaching out to others. Lent is a time to give of our goods and of ourselves. Either way, we are reaching out in charity. It is what Jesus did, and as followers of Christ we are called to do likewise.

• Write a letter to a friend or relative who would enjoy hearing from you.
• Make it a point to spend some time alone with someone who is feeling discouraged or rejected.
• Give a bouquet of flowers to a friend.
• Go out of your way to perform a generous act.
• Join a worthy cause and commit yourself to giving time throughout the year.
• Tithe during the six weeks of Lent and give the money to charity.
• Contribute money or food to a needy family.
• Forgive someone who has hurt you.
• If you have been holding a grudge against anyone, go to that person and seek forgiveness and reconciliation.
• Baby-sit free of charge for someone who doesn’t get out often.
• Do something to make God’s world more beautiful.
• Buy a bag of groceries for CCSA or the Crisis Center.
• Prepare a meal for a person who is a shut-in.
• Buy an Easter lily to decorate the sanctuary and then take it to someone who needs to know you care.
• Give family and friends cards or letters that express your love.
• Make a friendly gesture to an unfriendly neighbor.
• Spend time with an elderly parent, a small child, an ill or lonely person.
• Run an errand for a house-bound neighbor.
• Spend an hour in conversation with someone you long ago decided you had little in common with.
• Write a note to a friend, relative, or neighbor to let them know you remember and care about them.
• Visit someone in a nursing home or convalescent center.
• Invite someone to share a meal in your house.
• Avoid gossiping or being critical of others.