Having a plan for Lent can sometimes be difficult to come up with, but I come up with a really great one-stop-shop for your Lenten Resolutions. To make a good Lenten resolution you only need to pick one thing. Figure out your greatest struggle, your most frequent sin, your most egregious habit and find a resolution that best supports your efforts in fixing it.
Your resolution should be practical and concrete. Having a vague resolution will only set you up for failure. I like to pick one resolution from each category listed below because that helps me to focus on all 3 parts of penance: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. I like to throw in spiritual reading and activity for the kids as well because I’m reader and a mom.
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Pick a Lenten Devotional and other Great books to Read for Lent
–Toward Easter by Fr. Patrick Troadec
–The Road to Calvary by St. Alphonsus
–The Seven Last Words of Christ by St. Bonaventure
–The Passion of Christ Through the Eyes of Mary by St. Anselm of Canterbury
–The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales
–The Seven Last Words by Fulton J. Sheen
–Lent and Easter Wisdom From Fulton J. Sheen
–The Cries of Jesus from the Cross: A Fulton Sheen Anthology
–The Cross and the Beatitudes: Lessons on Love and Forgiveness by Fulton J. Sheen
–Characters of the Passion by Fulton J Sheen
–The Three Hours’ Agony of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Rev. Peter Giulday
–Why Must I Suffer by Rev. E. J. Remler, C.M.
–Cross and Crown by Fr. Robert Maeder
–Devotion to the Sorrowful Mother
Pick a Prayer Plan
-Litany of Humility
I literally love the Litany of Humility. I struggle with pride and I always have. When I find myself really turning inward and focusing more on myself than others is when I pull it. I love the idea of saying it every day in Lent. Humility will always bring us closer of Christ.
-10min of meditation
Meditation in the religious sense is so helpful for your spiritual health. Meditating as a Catholic is different than meditation in the secular sense. Here is a great article about Meditation and how to do it.
One really great resolution idea is to spend 10 minutes a day meditating on the Passion of Christ.
-Daily offering
You can use any daily offering that you want to, but here is the one that I use:
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day
for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world,
for the salvation of souls, the reparation of sins, the reunion of all Christians,
and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month.
Amen.
-Daily Mass
-Daily Rosary
Here are some tips on how to say the Rosary with your kids.
-Daily/weekly Stations of the Cross
My local parish has the Stations of the Cross every Friday in Lent. Going to Stations weekly would be a great resolution for Lent.
-Visit the Blessed Sacrament
-10min of silent prayer
-Pray a daily decade of the Rosary
-Prayer of Thanksgiving
Here is a really great Prayer of Thanksgiving from St. Francis of Assisi:
-Pray for the Pope
-Pray for your parish priest
-Read your bible daily
-Pray for vocations
–Litany of the Passion
–Litany of the Holy Cross
Pick a Fasting Plan
Usually, when one thinks about fasting they think about food, treats, chocolate, or coffee, which can all be great resolutions if those are items that you typically over indulge in. For some, dietary fasting resolutions may not be great for you. I have been very pregnant or breastfeeding a small infant for 6 of the last 9 Lents and so I have tried to find non-dietary items to fast from.
Sometimes, God gives us our physical penances and we don’t have to pick them at all because offering up the suffering we are already enduring gives us more grace than inflicting new crosses ourselves.
-Social media
Social media can steal us of our time. It is the ultimate time waster. If we cut back on social media we could add more prayers to our day. We could spend more time with our family or the neighbors that could use our attention.
-Alcohol
-Sweets/treats
-Coffee
-Meat
Catholics over 7 years old and under 65 years old are obligated to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays in Lent. There are also exemptions for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and those with medical conditions that have specific dietary restrictions or needs.
-Soda
-Sleeping in or staying up late
Keeping yourself on a routine regarding wake and sleep times can be a really great resolution if you find yourself in bad habits as long as it is for the glory of God and betterment of your spiritual wellbeing.
-Snacking
Fasting from snacking on Ash Wednesday and Fridays of Lent is also an obligation for most Catholics. This is a fantastic resolution if you find yourself a real die-hard snacker.
-Complaining
-Spending money
A No Spend Lent would be a great resolution if you are a shopaholic or in debt. It has a practical component, but it also has a spiritual one as well because the Spirit of Poverty is a beautiful thing.
-Sleeping in a bed or using a pillow
I have a friend who slept on the floor for Lent. I had never heard of that before, but it seems like a very great penitential resolution. The saints did it.
-Hot showers
-Watching tv/Youtube
-Wearing makeup
-Games on your phone
-Non-religious books
-Listening to the radio
One year I gave up any non-Classical/non-acoustic music. It was very interesting and surprising difficult.
-Eating out
-Online shopping
-Screen time on the phone
This is a big battle for me. My parish priest gave me a penance of 24hours without using my phone. I could text and call and refer to my calendar, but otherwise no screen time. It was so wonderful and it lasted about 2 weeks. It has crept back up and so this will be one of my resolutions this Lent although I will allow myself to use other tools on my phone like my music, audiobooks, and my calculator.
Pick a Almsgiving Plan
-Reach out to someone you wouldn’t normally reach out to
You never know if reaching out to a friend, family member, or neighbor could be exactly what they need. They may be having a hard time that you are unaware of. Reach out to them, you wont regret it.
Anecdotally, I thought of reaching out to a friend from childhood (he was like a brother to me), but I didn’t listen to that voice in my head, and he unfortunately took his own life about a week later. I don’t know if reaching out would have done anything, but I will never know. and I also will never ignore that voice ever again.
-Call an elderly family member
-Buy lunch or dinner for someone
-Offer someone help
-Smile at a stranger
-Donate food
This year we are going to buy $10 of food every week to donate to our local food bank. We will also be going through our pantry as well.
-Donate gently used clothes
-Give a gift for no reason
-Spend quality time with your family
-Write someone a letter
40 days to a Decluttered House
Pick 1 or 2 Activities to do with your kids
Check out this blog post for ideas to do as a family with your kids.
-Bury the Alleluia
-46 Day Prayer Chain Countdown
-Sacrifice Bean Jar
-Meat Free Ash Wednesday and Fridays of Lent (maybe more for penance)
-Lenten Candle Family Activity
–Random Acts of Kindness Jar from Minnesota Momma
-Bible Story Coloring Pages
Here is a great Bible coloring books for your kids, but you can also find some really good ones at Dollar Tree and they’re only $1.25.
I also love these Bible Seek and Find Books as well.
-Prayer Request Jar
–Printable Lenten Calendar for Kids from Catholic Icing
–Stations of the Cross with kids at home
Conclusion
Finding the right resolution for your particular state of life is vital in finding one you will keep. It is also important not choose too many resolutions. Keeping it to 1-3 is usually the recommendation because any more than that and the likelihood of you keeping to them is decreases.
I hope this post is helpful for you. I’m interested to know what resolutions you decide to make for Lent this year. Leave a comment below, especially if I missed a resolution.