Lenten Plan

Walk this Lenten journey with our parish community. Whether you’re looking for structure, learning how to pray, or seeking quiet moments of reflection, we hope you will engage more deeply this season. This year’s Lenten theme, “Come Back to Me,” is an invitation from God to return to Him with open hearts, through prayer.

Fr. Brett has created a simple framework to help you approach Lent with purpose, without feeling overwhelmed. It’s not too late to prayerfully commit. These practices are meant to help you grow in prayer, deepen your trust in God, and live out your faith in concrete ways throughout the season. As you begin your Lenten journey, we hope you will prayerfully commit to one or more practices from each of the five categories below:

1. Set an Overall Intention

Choose one spiritual grace to seek (for example: deeper trust, freedom from a particular sin, renewed love for the Eucharist)
Each day, briefly ask God, “What does my soul need?” to keep that intention in view.

2. Pray

Prayer is at the heart of Lent—and you don’t need to be an expert to begin. Consider one or more of the following:

If you do not know how to pray or find prayer difficult or boring, how about coming to the Prayer Workshop on Tuesday evenings at 6.30 p.m. following the 6 p.m. Mass?
Attend the Stations of the Cross on Friday evenings following Mass at 6 p.m.
Pray a daily Rosary or Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Commit to at least 15 minutes of daily prayer, such as reading the scriptures or spending time before the tabernacle in the chapel. Tip: write down when and where you will pray.

3. Fast

This Lent, make a point to rediscover the power of fasting in your life.

Choose one thing to fast from every day of Lent (alcohol, social media, etc.).
Commit to cultivating one good habit during Lent.

The Power of Fasting

The Church requires all Catholics from ages 14-59 to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. If you are in good health, this means that you should only eat one full meal, plus two smaller meals that do not equal a full meal.

There is great wisdom in the Christian practice of fasting—even though its benefits are largely forgotten. Fasting is a spiritual exercise, and as such is primarily an action of the inner life. Authentic fasting draws us nearer to God and opens our hearts to receive his many gifts. Fasting is also a sharp reminder that there are more important things in life than food. Authentic Christian fasting helps to release us from our attachments to the things of this world. It is often these worldly attachments that prevent us from becoming the-best-version-of-ourselves. Fasting also serves as a reminder that everything in this world is passing and thus encourages us to consider life beyond death.

Try going without food for several hours and you will quickly realize how truly weak, fragile, and dependent we are. This self-knowledge strips away arrogance and fosters a loving acknowledgment of our utter dependence on God. Once you realize the spiritual power of fasting, you’ll notice that it can be applied to aspects of life beyond food. You can fast from TV, social media, cursing, gossip, or any other habit that doesn’t feed your soul.

Abstain from Meat

Another powerful invitation to grow in your spiritual life is abstaining from meat. Catholics age 14 and older do not eat meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during Lent, including Good Friday. Instead of meat, many Catholics choose to eat fish—which is why many parishes around the country have fish fries on Fridays during Lent. These are a great opportunity for a parish community to come together to pray and fast.

4. Almsgiving (Generosity)

Lent calls us to love our neighbor in concrete ways. We invite you to:

Contribute a gift of your time by serving at one of our Hands of Mercy Ministries at least once a week.
Decide on a concrete money sacrifice and contribute this to our Lenten Outreach Project.

5. Other practices to consider

Attend one extra Mass during the week (in addition to Sunday).
Make sure that you go to confession once during Lent.
Practice a brief nightly examen (this form of prayer will be explained in our Prayer Workshop).
Invite a friend or family member to at least one Lenten activity.