Catholic Apologetics #57
(Read: 20 Practices to Observe during Lent Part 1)
“Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).
Lent is a time for us to grow in holiness through penance: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. In Part I of this article, we suggested six ways to improve your Lent. Here are fourteen more.
If you have some helpful suggestions to add to this list, please consider adding them in the “Disqus” section below this article. That way, you too can ‘join the conversation’.
- Go to an extra Mass or more each week of Lent.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the greatest form of prayer there is. Sacrifice some time and make the effort to attend the Traditional Latin Mass more often than just on Sundays.
In times past, many Catholics made the effort to attend Holy Mass every single day of Lent. That may not be possible given your circumstances, but how much of an effort can you make? And if Sunday is really the only time you can get to Mass, make a firm resolution to attend that Mass with greater reverence, concentration and love for Our Lord.
For those who have not yet attended the Traditional Latin Mass, or don’t do so regularly, why not make the resolution to attend only the Traditional Latin Mass throughout Lent, up to and through Easter? If you consecrate to God these sacred “forty days of penance” by worshipping Him through the Mass of our ancestors, rest assured He will reciprocate by granting you powerful graces. Such a sacrifice rendered unto God will not go unanswered.
- Add a Holy Hour, once a week, twice a week, or each day.
“If we really loved the good God, we should make it our joy and happiness to come and spend a few moments to adore Him, and ask Him for the grace of forgiveness; and we should regard those moments as the happiest of our lives” (St. John Vianney on Adoration of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament).[1]
“Of all devotions, that of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the greatest after the sacraments, the one dearest to God and the one most helpful to us” (St. Alphonsus Liguori).
- Pray for the Souls in Purgatory
We have an obligation to pray for our relatives and for anyone we may have harmed by our sins. Praying a Rosary before the Blessed Sacrament after Mass is extremely efficacious for the Poor Souls and can lead to the gaining of a plenary indulgence — all other conditions for this being fulfilled.
We should pray fervently and frequently for the souls in Purgatory. Why not start by adding the St. Gertrude Prayer to your daily prayers? This prayer is reputed to be very powerful in helping release souls from Purgatory.
Additionally, the faithful should be encouraged to ask the clergy to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with the intention of freeing the souls in Purgatory. Many souls are released from Purgatory by the graces received from the Mass. Furthermore, we should seek to gain indulgences for the souls in Purgatory. One such way to do so is by visiting a cemetery and saying a prayer for the dead.
Lastly, the souls in Purgatory are greatly aided when we offer our Holy Communions for them. Make it a practice to offer your Holy Communion at least once weekly for the souls in Purgatory.
- Pray for Those in Danger of Dying
Such prayers should be offered to Our Lady to apply as She desires, for She sees clearly who really needs the extra graces at any given time.
- Pray for anyone you may have had the misfortune to lead into sin.
Not only should you make prayers of reparation, but you must seek out these souls (if possible) and seek to repair the damage you have done. Lent is an opportune time for this.
- Pray for the End of Abortion
We should not neglect to pray for an end to abortion which robs children of life, brings excommunication on all those involved in the murder of the child, and bars the innocent life from Baptism and the Beatific Vision. Work to end abortion. Support pro-life charities that are in line with Catholic values this Lent.[2]
- Go to Weekly Confession
Confession is the only means that Our Lord instituted for the forgiveness of sins. If you are out of the habit of going regularly, now is the opportune time. Encourage others who have been away for awhile to use this time to receive true forgiveness.
- Make Daily an Examination of Conscience before Lunch and before Bedtime
As recommended in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, make your examination of conscience before lunch and then again before bedtime. Before lunch, reflect on your words, thoughts, and deeds (or lack thereof) for each hour of the day up until then. If you have sinned, make a sincere Act of Contrition. Remember to confess these sins at your next Confession. In the evening, again make an examination of conscience on each hour of the day starting with lunch and until the present moment. This practice helps us notice trends in our life and helps us know what to confess.
- Make Voluntary Acts of Daily Penance
To Sr. Lucia of Fatima, Our Lord revealed that “The penance I now expect and require is that necessary for the fulfillment of My law and the performance of one’s daily duties.”
- Perform Good Works of Mercy
- Increase your weekly donation at Church.
- Give to traditional monasteries and convents.
- Pledge a monthly donation to The Fatima Center.
- Support those apostolates which promote the recovery and restoration of all our Catholic Tradition.
- Support good traditional Catholic schools.
- Support crisis pregnancy centers.
- Support local soup kitchens.
- Help those who are poor.
- Do Apostolic Work
- Take someone to Mass with you.
- Take someone to Confession with you; or simply tell them about graces you have received through a past Confession.
- Invite someone to become a Catholic — start talking to him about it.
- Email someone a video, podcast or article from The Fatima Center, explaining how it had a positive effect on you.
- Get a priest to visit a fallen-away Catholic, especially an elderly one.
- Distribute Catholic books and booklets. Items from Our Lady of the Rosary Library, for instance, can be purchased online.[3]
- Do 15 Minutes of Spiritual Reading Daily
Read daily from the Bible or the Lives of the Saints. The monks of the order of St. Benedict have long required spiritual reading by all their members during Lent. Spiritual reading helps us turn to the Lord and become deeper in our prayer life. In the words of St. Thomas Aquinas, “Union with God consists in knowing God perfectly. For the better one is known, the more perfectly one is loved.” There are many traditional Catholic books available for free online reading.[4]
- Consecrate Your Life Each Day to God
Each day of Lent, pray and renew both your Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus[5] and your Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.[6] If you have not made either consecration yet, do so today.
If you do not have images of the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart in your home, acquire some and hang them in a prominent location.
If you have not yet done so, enthrone the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary in your home (read more about this here).
- Talk as Little as Possible
Vain speech is of little avail for eternal life. During Lent, mirror the practices of the religious Orders and speak only when necessary. As said in the Rule of St. Benedict: “Indeed, so important is silence that permission to speak should seldom be granted even to mature disciples, no matter how good or holy or constructive their talk, because it is written: ‘In a flood of words you will not avoid sin’ (Prov 10:19); and elsewhere, ‘The tongue holds the key to life and death’ (Prov 18:21). Speaking and teaching are the master’s task; the disciple is to be silent and listen.”
Conclusion
As you can see, none of these practices included “giving up” candy, chocolate, dessert, etc. There is a modern misconception that Lent is about dieting or about “giving up” time wasters in order to increase one’s productivity. This could not be further from the truth. For those of you who think that Lent is about getting in shape and increasing efficiency, “you have received your rewards” (cf. Matthew 6:5) and the discipline of Lent has done little to help your immortal soul.
This Lent, use the two-and-a-half week period of Septuagesima leading up to Lent to get a plan in place. What sacrifices will you make? What alms will you give? What fasting and abstinence will you undertake? What additional prayers will you say? Make a list and share it as a family so you can help hold each other accountable.
Lastly, resolve to have something about this Lent “stick with you” for the rest of your life. Too often Catholics “give something up” for Lent and then go right back to it after Lent. God gives us the time – and grace – of Lent so we can make real lasting changes in our life. Forty days is about the length of time the human needs to build up a good habit. If you have lived thirty-five years and had used each Lent well (since attaining the age of reason), then you could have built-up twenty-eight good habits (virtues) by now or combatted the same number of vices.
As you plan your Lent, intentionally resolve to practice some virtue for forty days which you want to become a habitual part of how you live every day, from now until God calls you to your particular judgment.
[1] If you are unable to make a holy hour on account of your duties of state, you can surely make a fifteen minute visit to Our Lord, patiently waiting in the tabernacle.
[2] A listing of some pro-life charities that you may wish to support can be found at https://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2018/11/12-pro-life-charities-for-catholics.html
[3] http://www.olrl.org/mm5/merchant.mvc
[4] One excellent site for such books is http://www.traditionalcatholic.co/free-catholicbooks/
[5] The Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as written by Pope Leo XIII: http://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2015/10/prayer-of-consecration-to-sacred-heart.html
[6] The Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary may be found here: https://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2012/08/more-about-fatima-and-immaculate-heart.html