What We Love: Our Favorite Lenten Practices
I’ve always thought March to be a slow, transitional month; full of potential as the snow turns to slush and the skies fade from gray to blue. Spiritually, we find ourselves knee-deep in the Lenten season, shedding (sometimes painfully) our bad habits while meditating on the ashes we grow from and return to. Not unlike March, Lent can feel dually hopeful and never-ending. While you embrace penance and seek greater knowledge of yourself through prayer, we hope the practices we love help you successfully transition into the springtide waiting around the corner.
Lindsey: Tenebrae Service
During Holy Week, my Newman Center chapel traditionally held a tenebrae service. Tenebrae means “darkness.” When we entered, the church was in complete darkness but for a triangular candelabra with burning candles. As the service alternated between readings and sung psalms, the candles were gradually extinguished, until we were in utter darkness. The last candle, however, was not extinguished; rather the priest took it out of the Church through a side door, slamming it shut to recall to us the earthquake that occurred at Christ’s death. The darkness reminded us of Jesus leaving the world on Good Friday. The most beautiful part of this liturgy, for me, was that the priest soon returned with that one lighted candle and placed it back in the candelabra. It was a symbol of hope: Jesus, the light of the world, would return. Since college, I have gathered friends in my home to pray the tenebrae service, and find it to be such a quieting, poetic prayer practice. (For a few tenebrae service guides, visit here and here.)
Carolyn: Fasting
I love food, but there’s something beautiful about that palpable ache. Typically I can satisfy my hunger immediately––the moment my stomach churns, I open my fridge to alleviate its moaning. But when I fast during Lent, that physical ache speaks the language of my soul: it echoes my spiritual hunger that never quite seems satisfied. My body and soul are drawn together, and that unity is...powerful.
Mercedes: Set a Fire, the Blessed is She Catholic Lent Devotional for Women
This Lenten daily devotional walks readers through a spiritual journey to purification. The format includes Scripture passages, personal stories, prayers to the Holy Spirit, and journal questions. I love the simple, user-friendly structure of this beautiful devotional. Whether meditating on God’s revelation in my life or intentionally receiving the Holy Spirit into my life, this book reminds me that the Lord is accompanying me on my journey to the foot of the cross. Digital downloads are still available for purchase here!
Johanna: Fasting, but not food.
I’ve realized that there are other things to sacrifice that have reaped more benefits for me, than food. This season has been T.V. I don't watch that much to start with, but completely cutting it out has drawn me to relax with more time in solitude with the Lord. Maybe I’ll visit a chapel, journal, or go for a rosary walk. The time that used to be spent in Netflix, Prime, and Hulu, is now the time to connect whether in formal or informal prayer. (Hey, sometimes a craft project is a prayer!)
Olivia: Stations of the Cross
Whether it’s led by a priest in a parish church or done with my husband in the simplicity of our home, there’s something about the recitation of the Way of the Cross that really brings Lent to the forefront for me. I’m able to envision Christ’s passion and death in a humble, meditative way and place myself in the scene. I am particularly moved by St. Josemaria Escriva’s reflections in his The Way of the Cross (conveniently found online here, or in the Daily Roman Missal by Scepter).
Hannah: Sacrificing Time
While it seems simplistic, a sacrifice of time has been one of the most difficult and rewarding Lenten practices I’ve ever done. Some Lents I’ve given up food, social media, and the like, other years I’ve “added” something to do like prayer, mass, or charitable acts. This Lent I decided to “sacrifice” 10 scheduled minutes of my day to pray. For me, this meant the first 10 minutes after my kids went down for a nap (which, in my little world, is very precious time). While it’s still difficult to choose to use that time in this manner, reworking my perspective of prayer as an offering of time, rather than another thing on my to-do list, has allowed me to embrace prayer even when I don’t want to––precisely because my time is what I’m giving up, so if I skip my prayer time I’m essentially skipping my Lenten sacrifice. It’s an intentional way to increase prayer as well as learn to habitually make time for the Lord, something I’ve begun to look forward to more and more with each passing day. If you’re interested in doing this, I highly recommend the Hallow app. It allows you to set timers for different kinds of prayer (my favorite lately is Lectio Divina).
