During the season of Lent, the Church asks us to spend more time in intentional prayer, to fast and abstain from meat on designated days, and to practice charitable giving. Recalling Jesus' 40-day fast in the wilderness, we believe that our consistent participation in these practices deepens our spiritual lives by stripping away all that is unnecessary and reminding us of our sole reliance on God.
PRAYER
Throughout Lent, we are called to deepen our pray life. Opportunities for prayer include praying the rosary daily, going to daily Mass, receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, reading a devotional, attending Evening Prayer and Stations of the Cross, and spending time in prayer with the Blessed Sacrament in the Adoration Chapel.
FASTING
The discipline of fasting helps us recognize our true hunger for Christ and to seek a closer relationship with Him. It becomes more than exercising self-control. It is a reminder of our abundance, in comparison to those in the world who struggle daily with hunger and starvation. Fasting can also take the form of abstinence of "noise" in our busy culture. We can fast from television, social media, and consumer items.
ALMSGIVING
When Jesus encouraged us to help our neighbor, He meant anyone who suffers, be that of loneliness, sickness, or poverty. As stewardship reminds us, our material goods are just the beginning of real Christian giving. We are called to give or ourselves, of our time, and to others in need. Almsgiving opportunities are all around us. For example, we can give to the food banks, donate our gently-used clothes and household items, give funds to a charitable organization, and visit or write a note to our shut-ins and those in our nursing homes.
PRAYER
Throughout Lent, we are called to deepen our pray life. Opportunities for prayer include praying the rosary daily, going to daily Mass, receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, reading a devotional, attending Evening Prayer and Stations of the Cross, and spending time in prayer with the Blessed Sacrament in the Adoration Chapel.
FASTING
The discipline of fasting helps us recognize our true hunger for Christ and to seek a closer relationship with Him. It becomes more than exercising self-control. It is a reminder of our abundance, in comparison to those in the world who struggle daily with hunger and starvation. Fasting can also take the form of abstinence of "noise" in our busy culture. We can fast from television, social media, and consumer items.
ALMSGIVING
When Jesus encouraged us to help our neighbor, He meant anyone who suffers, be that of loneliness, sickness, or poverty. As stewardship reminds us, our material goods are just the beginning of real Christian giving. We are called to give or ourselves, of our time, and to others in need. Almsgiving opportunities are all around us. For example, we can give to the food banks, donate our gently-used clothes and household items, give funds to a charitable organization, and visit or write a note to our shut-ins and those in our nursing homes.
Lent 2019 Commitment
What is prayer? Prayer is the lifting up of our hearts and minds to God. Prayer is how we get to know God. It is how we talk to and listen to God. Prayer is about relationship. It is unique for each one of us, yet it is up to each of us to make sure the relationship exists. Prayer is a gift of time. After we begin to pray on a regular basis, we can see how God has entered our lives in tangible ways, meeting our needs when we least expect it. As we learned in The Heart That Gives, "Prayer focuses us, slows us down and orients us to God."
READ MORE about how to begin praying and how you can use prayer to be open to God's love for you during the 40 days of Lent. This flyer also includes a preview of the 2019 Lenten Commitment Cards for adults, teens and children.
Please review the suggestions of opportunities for Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving that you can offer to the Lord this Lent, in preparation for the weekend of March 2-3, 2019. At that time, we will receive and complete our individual Lenten Commitment Cards and place them on the altar.
Filling out and submitting a Lenten Commitment Card is a commitment you make to God alone. When you submit your card at Mass, it will stay in the basket on the altar throughout the entire Lenten season. Only you and God will know what's in your heart!
READ MORE about how to begin praying and how you can use prayer to be open to God's love for you during the 40 days of Lent. This flyer also includes a preview of the 2019 Lenten Commitment Cards for adults, teens and children.
Please review the suggestions of opportunities for Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving that you can offer to the Lord this Lent, in preparation for the weekend of March 2-3, 2019. At that time, we will receive and complete our individual Lenten Commitment Cards and place them on the altar.
Filling out and submitting a Lenten Commitment Card is a commitment you make to God alone. When you submit your card at Mass, it will stay in the basket on the altar throughout the entire Lenten season. Only you and God will know what's in your heart!
May your Lent be rooted in His word!
