Lent Is Not Too Far Away...

[PhuturePriest]

My previous Lent was far too lax, so this is what I will be doing this Lent: Pray an hour a day, read the Bible for at least 15 minutes (This will count as praying), study for the ACTs for 1 1/2 a day, no pop (Unless it is a special occasion or someone has given some to me, keeping with Franciscan tradition), read philosophy and a book an hour a day, and only use the internet a maximum of 3 hours a day. This will be most difficult because I don't normally have anything else I need to do, which is why all the other stuff I've thrown on top will be handy. :P

[SilentJoy]

Last year I decided to fast (one meal and a couple snacks). Since it was optional, I hadn't determined if I was going to do this for the whole season, or only on certain days, or if Sundays and Solemnities were included. Then during Confession, my priest (who normally gives penances like "Think about God's Love and say a prayer for someone") asked me what I was doing for Lent. I told him I was fasting, and he said, "Okay, just keep doing that as your penance."

 

A few days later I started having all kinds of silly terrors because now my Lenten thing wasn't optional and I didn't know how much it actually included and if I could eat normally on Sundays or what "one meal and two smaller meals that do not equal a full meal" meant; for all I knew, maybe I ate way more than normal people and my "snack" was someone else's full meal, and could the main meal be spread out throughout the day or did I have to eat it at one sitting...plus I had found a certain prayer to say after the completion of a penance, and I couldn't say the prayer for 5 weeks...!!!!!!!!! It was a restless Lent.  :hehe2:

[Nihil Obstat]

...plus I had found a certain prayer to say after the completion of a penance, and I couldn't say the prayer for 5 weeks...!!!!!!!!! It was a restless Lent.  :hehe2:

That is exactly why priests should typically assign penances that are easy to complete promptly. :P

[PhuturePriest]

Last year I decided to fast (one meal and a couple snacks). Since it was optional, I hadn't determined if I was going to do this for the whole season, or only on certain days, or if Sundays and Solemnities were included. Then during Confession, my priest (who normally gives penances like "Think about God's Love and say a prayer for someone") asked me what I was doing for Lent. I told him I was fasting, and he said, "Okay, just keep doing that as your penance."

 

A few days later I started having all kinds of silly terrors because now my Lenten thing wasn't optional and I didn't know how much it actually included and if I could eat normally on Sundays or what "one meal and two smaller meals that do not equal a full meal" meant; for all I knew, maybe I ate way more than normal people and my "snack" was someone else's full meal, and could the main meal be spread out throughout the day or did I have to eat it at one sitting...plus I had found a certain prayer to say after the completion of a penance, and I couldn't say the prayer for 5 weeks...!!!!!!!!! It was a restless Lent.  :hehe2:

 

You've got nothing to complain about. When I was fourteen, I went to confession, and for my penance, the priest said "Pray to the Holy Spirit every day, asking him to come into your heart." The thing is, he didn't specify a time-frame. He just said "every day". As a result, to this day, three years later, I still pray to the Holy Spirit every day, asking him to come into my heart. :P

[SilentJoy]

You've got nothing to complain about. When I was fourteen, I went to confession, and for my penance, the priest said "Pray to the Holy Spirit every day, asking him to come into your heart." The thing is, he didn't specify a time-frame. He just said "every day". As a result, to this day, three years later, I still pray to the Holy Spirit every day, asking him to come into my heart. :P

 

:rotfl2:

Not a bad practice.

[ChristinaTherese]

Here's a blog post (with a few links at the bottom) with an interesting list of ideas. I might use it as a springboard this year. http://www.piercedhands.com/100-things-to-do-for-lent/

[loveletslive]

i really like deleting all the games/social media/useless/timewasting apps off my phone. it helps me be more intentional with my time, and with people. there's no temptation to check out for 5 mins when i'm with friends to browse instagram, because i no longer have insta-access to it :) and...doing it in the past helped me kick my habit of checking facebook every 5 minutes.

 

i'm reading a book by fr. jacques phillipe about st. therese and he mentions the best lenten penance would to be cheerful and to not complain for all of lenten and to do everything joyfully.

[cmaD2006]

The one positive note ... I have a meeting with my spiritual director TWO WEEKS after Lent starts, so I won't be held accountable for anything I decide to do until then.

 

:evil: :lol:

[YHZRosko]

This will be my first Lent since coming back to the Church after a long time away. I'm planning to stop using Facebook completely (I've been trying to reduce my use anyway. I used to waste A LOT of time on there) and use that time for praying the Roasary daily.

[cartermia]

FP, I think you and I went to the same priest, cause that was my penance for confession recently. :unsure:

I gave up reading fiction books which was a HUGE sacrifice for me since I read for at least an hour every day, if not more. It was hard but it did leave more time for prayer and doing math homework ( :(  math homework...) I am going to add studying for the ACT and doing my math every night. Also I am going to fast and clean my room right when my mother tells me to (another big one.) Yeah I think that is all.