Resolution: Pray

With today being Ash Wednesday, we find that the Lenten season is upon us. To me, Lent is the period prior to Holy Week, in which I prepare myself to witness the Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. Preparation can be done in many ways, in the form of prayer, fasting/abstaining and almsgiving.

To help parishioners with their Lenten journey, my church supplies what is called Little Black Book of Six-Minute Meditations. There is a page a day, starting with last Sunday and ending Easter Sunday. On the right page you’ll find a snippet from Marks Passion. On the left will be some ideas on how to put this faith into your everyday life. Like the title says, it’s a 6 minute commitment per day. You can do that during a commercial break, or while sitting on the john (sorry to be TMI, lol!). The hubs and I are sharing this book each night after getting into bed.

As for my personal preparations:

• Prayer: Well, this will be done 6 minutes each night. And more, as I see fit.
• Fasting/abstaining: Obviously following the no-meat rule for Fridays. I have also ‘given up’ unnecessary purchases for the next 40(+) days. Impulse shopping is a nasty habit of mine and I’d love to be able to concentrate less on material things and be able to use that money to go towards debt relief.
• Almsgiving: The Hubs and I are making tithing a priority in our budget. In addition, we will be doing the “Operation Rice Bowl” project. The idea is to fast for one meal a week, put the money you’ve saved into a rice bowl and donate that money at the end of Lent.

If you celebrate Lent, what are you doing to prepare for the season?