Transform Your Lenten Season: Tips for Making it More Meaningful

Transform your Lenten Season with tips for making it more meaningful. Discover 10 simple ways to deepen your faith this Lenten season, from praying and reading the Bible to serving others and practicing gratitude.

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When Lent arrives, it can be easy to focus on just deciding what you’ll give up as a sacrifice.

Maybe you add something to your days instead or do a combination of the two.

I’ve shared several of the things I’ve done for a Lenten Sacrifice in the past.

But, are your choices ones that are helping you find meaning in the season of Lent?

10 Tips for Making Lent More Meaningful

Back in 2019, I was gifted with a short list of tips to have a more meaningful Lent. A fellow parishioner in Alaska had received it via email from Dominican priests.

I’ve added more to the base list and hope it is helpful for you.

Something our current pastor says is the phrase “Even now.”
Even now, you can embrace something that will help Lent become more meaningful.
No need to fret over not having it perfect from day 1.

#1: Slow Down

Our modern world throws so much at us. If you let it, you can be convinced that you need to do ALL the things leaving you no downtime.

Set aside 10 minutes each day for silent prayer or meditation. This short time will revitalize your body and spirit.

If you can’t find words for prayer during those 10 minutes, just sit in silence.

#2: Read a Good Book

As much as I adore some good fiction to whisk me away from my troubles, I find that books that help me on my spiritual journey are key during Lent.

Need ideas? 

The Bible is a great starting place for reading time.

Consider practicing the art of Lectio Divina, a way to help you hear God amid the noise of life.

For Scripture, you can opt to do the daily readings found at Mass or search for a topic of interest.

My personal favorite is to pray over my Bible and ask God to show me Scripture I need to hear. I then open to a random page and start reading.

Read about the life of a Saint or maybe the writings of a church father.

There are also many different devotionals that take just a few minutes a day to help you center and grow spiritually.

#3: Be Kind

Remember the frenzy of life the world promotes?

Well, if we listen to the secular world we can easily become self-centered and uncaring of others.

Use the season of Lent to be kind.

Smiling at those you meet each day and offering a kind word is easy to do.

Going out of your way to do an act of kindness for another is golden.

#4: Get Involved at Your Church

Does your church have a Lenten mission?

Is there a communal penance service you can attend to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation?

Or maybe a special Bible study you can join?

If so, make the time to grow in faith alongside your Church community.

#5: Volunteer at Your Church (or in the community)

This is where involvement takes on a new level of meaning.

And, I know from experience that the more I give of myself the more I get in the process.

In the past, my husband and boys spent time helping at the Knights of Columbus fish fries on Fridays and the monthly breakfast.

We also dedicated time on Monday and Saturday mornings at our Colorado parish’s food pantry.

Since moving to Mississippi, we have volunteered to make soup and take turns reading for Friday’s Soup and Stations.

Our family is also embracing more ministerial roles at the church and finding ways to help local charities through outreach.

#6: Reach Out

Is there someone who isn’t attending church that you can invite to go with you?

Or, maybe ask them to a lecture or Bible study where they can make meaningful connections.

Another way to reach out is to find someone who is homebound and in need of company.

This could be a neighbor or someone who is registered at your parish.

Or consider volunteering in your community.

This can be a great way to live out your faith and make a difference in the world.

40 Days of Seeking Him Ebook

If you have been reading the blog for a while, then you might recall that this link-up started in 2011 as a daily one.

I didn’t always participate in the link-up but have made an effort to do it as often as possible.

We switched to a weekly link-up format which meant at least one anchor post per week here.

I have pulled together some of our readers’ favorite posts over the years and included new recipes and reflections.

 

#7: Pray

This seems obvious. But, many of us still do not fully embrace the idea of praying throughout the day.

When you do take time to pray, what does it look like?

Do you express your gratitude for all God has done for you, taking a moment to adore Him?

Are you presenting a litany of things you desire or prayers for the people closest to you?

A challenge for Lent is to pray for those people who you do not like or those who do not like you.

For Catholics, there are various forms of prayer including a prayer of blessing or adoration, a prayer of petition, a prayer of intercession, a prayer of thanksgiving, and a prayer of praise.

Prayer can be memorized and follow a set pattern like the Morning Offering or the Rosary. Or, you can just spend time with Jesus and speak from your heart.

If your church offers time other than on Sunday, then put it on your schedule to attend an extra service. Until moving to Mississippi, I often added at least one Daily Mass to my schedule each week of Lent.

#8: Tune Out

With screens surrounding us, it can be easy to get sucked into watching a show or hanging out on social media.

You don’t need to do a complete fast for Lent.

But, we can all make time to turn off those screens and have meaningful conversations with family or friends.

#9: Clean Out Closets

Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up got many of us busy with decluttering our homes. The more we own, the more it owns us!

If you haven’t already done a massive purge, now is a great time to do so.

Take those gently used items to a local charity that can use them.

I like to remember women’s shelters when it comes to toiletries.

When we travel, we acquire quite a collection of unopened hotel toiletries. Once a year I try to bring them all to a local women’s shelter.

#10: Donate

Donations come in all forms.

Find a charity or mission that you can support by sending money, clothing, or supplies.

Looking for a way to find the ‘funds’ to support a charity?

Give up something you normally spend money on and donate the savings.

40 Days of Seeking Him Sampler

If you have been reading the blog for a while, then you might recall that the 40 Days of Seeking Him link-up started in 2011 as a daily one. I didn’t always participate but have made an effort to do it as often as possible. We switched to a weekly link-up format which means at least one anchor post per week here.

I decided to pull together a ‘sampler’ as a free ebook to subscribers. If you are already a subscriber, just open up a recent weekly newsletter and click over to the appropriate “subscriber only” page.

If you are not currently a subscriber, you can get your copy when you sign up.

This post was originally published on March 10, 2019. It has since been updated and expanded.