Practices for Lent

“How will you and your family observe Lent this year?”

It’s a question we recently posed at our quarterly Faith Formation leadership meeting. Focusing on the three pillars of Lent (prayer, fasting, and almsgiving), here are some ways members of your Faith Formation Commission plan to observe Lent. Information on how you can participate in some or all of these events can be found via the links in the article below.

“We are planning to honor the fasting days during Lent and abstinence from meat on Fridays. We will also plan to attend Stations of the Cross and Reconciliation.”

“Our family is going to DO and ENGAGE in activities.  This includes: Reconciliation, Mass and Daily reflections, and volunteering.”

“I plan to do the reflections and exercises daily in the online retreat The Ignatian Workout for Lent, attend Stations of the Cross at least twice, celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation, and participate in Operation Rice Bowl by donating savings from meat-free dinners on Fridays.”

“In recent times we all try to combine efforts, and this year we are giving up take-out, which we seem to have relied on so much more since Covid. This will result in more dinner prep and cooking, something we love doing together. Making it a Lenten practice will help us to focus on that time together.”

“My Lenten practice will be centered around loneliness because I’ve been reading about how much it impacts so many people. I plan to reach out to family members who experience loneliness. I also plan to spend time in prayer facing my own fears around loneliness. And I plan to put down my phone when I’m in the company of others so I can be available to connect with them.”

“I am volunteering with the Restorative Justice Ministry of the Archdiocese of San Francisco to distribute ashes on Ash Wednesday to Catholics incarcerated in San Francisco County Jails. I’ve downloaded the Jesuit Pilgrimage app. And I want to learn more about how our Byzantine Catholic brothers and sisters observe the Great Fast.”

“If I do one thing this Lent, it will be to begin to pray the Examen more regularly.”

"I'm participating in the Laudato Si' suggested Lenten Fast. I filled out the form online, and I'm going to reduce our household plastic waste. I've also ordered a copy of the Pope's encyclical."

See the St. Ignatius Parish Lent 2024 page for more ideas and inspiration. How will you and your family observe Lent this year? Write and let us know at [email protected]
 

By members of the St. Ignatius Parish Faith Formation Commission