Monday, February 4, 2008

What To Do For Lent?

I've come across some recent posts on other blogs concerning thoughts on Lent this year. I think it really has snuck up on us, being the earliest it can ever be this year. I've read through Pope Benedict's Lenten Message and have been praying with it to determine how I feel called pray, fast, and give alms this Lent.

I am narrowed it down to these things:

Prayer: Select two people this Lent who are very far from the Lord. Offer prayers, sacrifices, and fasts for their conversion.

Fasting: Due to Mackey, I cannot fast as I would normally fast during Lent. This year, I will omit spices, condiments, any "extras" that I would usually use on my food. To fast from those little luxuries that I take for granted.

Almsgiving: Within our budget, DH and I allocate an amount each month that we can use for "luxury" items. Most months I put this money toward purchasing a book or movie that I think would be a good addition to our family collection. These two months of Lent, my portion of luxury money will be saved and then given to a charity of my choice during the Easter season. (I'm still praying about which charity) DH and I are also sitting down together to look at our budget as to how we can give more to our local parish.

If anybody has any suggestions about which charities to consider, they would be most appreciated.

1 comment:

Mulier Fortis said...

Be careful with the charities... some of them support stuff we wouldn't want to be associated with, like family planning.

Aid to the Church in Need is an excellent charity, as are the Sisters of the Gospel of Life and SPUC (Society for the Protection of Unborn Children)... all of them can be found through my blog.