Ideas for Lent

Fasting

• Fast form sweets as a family
• Give up your preferred hair/facial hair style
• Fast from apps (only use your smartphone to call and text)
• Fast from media (Movies, TV, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, etc.)
• Fast from music in your car and use that time for silent prayer or calling a friend or family member
• Fast from Social Media
• Give up “wasted words” (gossip, banality, unkindness, etc..) And with that work on being a better listener.
• Fast from frivolous spending

Prayer

• Use the Hallow app for daily prayer
  • Hallow app for Android
  • Hallow app for iOS
• Listen to the Bible in a Year Podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz
• Pray the Rosary, individually or as a family
  • Use Catholic Rosary Online to pray a scriptural rosary
  • Pray the Rosary each day of the week for a specific intention (friends, family members, coworkers, etc.)
• Pray the Stations of the Cross as a family
  • Use the children’s book called The Story of the Cross.
  • Put a board in the middle of the dining room table with 15 candles.
  • Read a station, sing a verse of At the Cross Her Station Keeping and light a candle. Then pass the book.
• Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, especially at 3 p.m. daily
  • How to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet
  • Divine Mercy Chaplet (Sung version)
  • Divine Mercy Chaplet (Spoken version)
• Do the Consecration to St. Joseph
  • Use the book Consecration to St Joseph by Fr Don Calloway
• Do the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary
  • The version given by St. Louis De Monfort
  • 33 Days to Morning Glory – a consecration program from Fr. Michael Gaitley
• Go to Confession once a month
• Read the daily Mass readings each night as a way to end the day in prayer
• Pray using the Blessed is She Lenten Journal for Women
• Pray part of the Liturgy of the Hours
• Read or listen to Catholic books or podcasts
• Seek specific times of silence in your day to listen for God
• Pick a Saint and study his or her writings

Almsgiving

• Make a crown wreath filled with toothpicks and place it on the coffee table. As your kids make sacrifices or do good works they remove a toothpick.
• Each day during Lent, write a letter, call, or text someone who has impacted your life in some way
• Adopt some type of diet or exercise program and lifting it up for you family or a friend in need
• Choose to give your time to someone in a consistent and specific way as a form of almsgiving
• Increase financial giving to the parish and non-profit organizations, letting your kids choose the charity
  • Catholic Charities and other Non-Profits:
    • Saint Paul’s Outreach
    • Damascus Catholic Mission Campus
    • NET Ministries
    • Hard As Nails Ministries
    • Mary’s Meals
    • The Culture Project
    • The Chastity Project
• Volunteer for Church events and local non-profits

Links to Resources

Magnificat
This monthly magazine is similar to The Word Among Us, with a treasure trove of morning and evening prayers, the prayers and readings for daily and Sunday Mass and engaging stories about the Saints.

Lenten Arts & Crafts
Lots of good ideas for parents and teachers alike!

Lenten Activities for Children
More good ideas for families.

Formed.org Lenten Reflections
Sign up to receive daily video reflections from Dr. Tim Gray

Best Lent Ever Program
Matthew Kelley’s Lent program. Daily email reflections throughout Lent. (Never too late to sign up!)

Lenten Reflections with Bishop Barron
Sign up to receive daily reflections from Bishop Robert Barron in your inbox.

Movies to watch during Lent
If you’re in the mood for some faith-filled entertainment.