Are you phoning it in for Lent?

by Greg Mies

After years of observing Lent, it can sometimes feel like you’re just going through the motions, checking off the typical boxes without really digging deeper into the meaning and transformation the season is meant to foster.

The rituals become so familiar that it’s easy to forget their true purpose: renewal, spiritual growth and a deeper relationship with God.

Lent is more than just a time to give up certain things or do obligatory acts. It’s a season to renew your heart and mind, to revive your devotion, and to allow the practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to draw you closer to Christ in a way that lasts beyond Easter.

Lent is a perfect time to form new spiritual habits, but the goal is for these habits to continue after Easter. If you find it hard to make this season transformative, consider this question: What lasting habit could I begin now that will continue after Lent ends?

Daily prayer: If you’ve been meaning to spend more time in prayer, try setting aside a specific time each day to pray. Make it a priority now, and by Easter, you might have a new routine that can continue beyond the season.

Fasting with a purpose: Fasting doesn’t have to just be about giving up food or other pleasures. It can be a spiritual discipline that helps you grow in areas where you might be struggling. Instead of just refraining from food, you could fast from something that’s actually a distraction in your life, and replace it with something spiritually nourishing.

For instance, if you tend to be impatient or judgmental, consider fasting from those behaviors by deliberately choosing to be more patient, understanding and kind each day. Or, if you feel overwhelmed by modern distractions (social media, technology, etc.), try fasting from these sources of distraction and use that time to reconnect with your faith.

Generosity: If you give to charity during Lent, try to make it a part of your regular life — whether it’s financially, through volunteering or by offering small acts of kindness in your community. Many charities, like the Archbishop’s Call to Share, offer year-round monthly giving programs that allow your donation to be deducted from your bank account throughout the year. This is a great way to extend almsgiving beyond the Lenten season.

Lent is about reorienting your life to the things that matter most: prayer, sacrifice and compassion. The hope is that the changes you make during Lent will help you grow spiritually — not just for the season, but for your entire life.