Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Challenges for a Holy Lent: Penance and Preparation

As Catholics, we have the age old practice of honoring the season of Lent with actions of penance, such as denying ourselves of something that gives us pleasure, pledging to do something good, or kicking a bad habit.  If you're like most people and are still uncertain of what to give up for Lent, here's 20 practical, challenging ideas for preparing your soul for Holy Week. 



  • Don’t eat the last bite of your food
  • Park at the very back of the parking lot
  • Put a popcorn kernel in your shoe every day
  • Don’t use your apps
  • Get to know your neighbors
  • Pray the “Hail Mary” and do an ab crunch for every single word
  • Stop complaining and/or being negative
  • Give up texting and call whoever you need to talk to
  • Don’t use utensils
  • Give away 10 shirts, 2 pairs of pants, and a pair of shoes
  • When you wake up, jump out of bed, kiss the floor, and learn humility
  • Wear the same 4 outfits for all of lent
  • Everyday do 20 (or 100) pushups and offer it up for someone who’s sick
  • Leave a post-it with a positive message on it wherever you go
  • Cut out all screen-time (phone, TV, computer) after dinner
  • Use your weekends to babysit for free
  • Send a different person an affirmation email every day of Lent
  • Don’t straighten or curl your hair
  • Sit and stand up straight – don’t slouch!
  • Every day take a picture of something or someone you’re grateful for and hang the pictures in your room

  • Like many posts recently put on here, this list was stolen.  I found it on LifeTeen.com.

    I challenge you:  Do something beyond what you'd normally do for Lent.  I mean seriously, you're giving up chocolate again?  Really original.  Christ was in the desert fasting for 40 days, you can do 40 days with something a little more spiritually exerting than a chocolate fast.  Just like an athlete improves to the degree they exercise their muscles, so it is with our soul.  Do you want to be holy?  Then challenge yourself this Lent.

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