Lent is coming up... what do I do?

[Vittorio23]

With Lent coming around the corner, I’m feeling a little out of the loop. I don’t really know what it is (other than the general response of reminding ourselves of the suffering that Our Lord went through), nor do I know what is done to celebrate it. When I’ve asked my friend I’ve been told that the gist of it is: no meat on Friday, you give up something, there’s Stations of the Cross every Friday night, and all the readings and homily’s are depressing.

For some reason I have a feeling that Lent is more than that. But, I don’t know. I want to get the most out of this season, and I have this nagging feeling that this is a season that I can draw close to the Lord. So, basically my questions are:

What is Lent?
*Why is it so important?*What should I be doing to celebrate it? (And not limited simply to what the Church asks of us… but also what we -should- be doing by ourselves)

Thank you for any help,

Kayla

 

[marysson]

Here is a good explanation…

catholic-central.com/permalink.php?eid=12

 

[Toni]

Great site.

Taken from the site I will quote;

**Lent as Preparation

**It must be remembered that Lent is simply a preparation for something bigger. The ‘Triduum’ is the term for the three days following Lent. These days are Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. The three days are counted as the Hebrews counted their days, from dusk to dusk. Therefore, the three days of the Easter Triduum are from dusk on Holy Thursday to dusk on Good Friday (day one), dusk on Good Friday to dusk on Holy Saturday (day two), and dusk on Holy Saturday to dusk on Easter Sunday (day three).

On Holy Thursday, we remember the Last Supper when Jesus gives us the Eucharist and tells us to “Do this in memory of me.” On Good Friday, we remember the Passion and death of Jesus. We celebrate the Resurrection of Christ either at the Easter Vigil on Saturday night when new members are baptized and welcomed into our Catholic faith, or on Easter Sunday.

Try to make this triduum it has a lot of meaning. From Holy Thursday at the Cathedral where they bless all the Holy oils, Holy Thursday evening, when everything is taken from the Church as we Catholic’s once again celebrate the Last Supper followed by adoration and of course the rest as stated. It is very beautiful and brings everything together so beautifully.

 

[puzzleannie]

Vittorio23:

When I’ve asked my friend I’ve been told that the gist of it is: no meat on Friday, you give up something, there’s Stations of the Cross every Friday night, and all the readings and homily’s are depressing.

maybe you need some new friends who have actually heard the readings of Lent proclaimed. Good thing you came here. the readings of Lent, especially the Sunday readings of Cycle A used for RCIA are beautiful and anything but depressing. the readings for the Holy Week and the Easter Vigil, chosen particularly for their role in catechesis of the elect, relate the whole of salvation history. The encounter of Jesus with the woman at the well, the healing of the blind man, the raising of Lazarus, the amazing healings of lives, illnesses, disorders, possession, sin, and brokenness and the victory over death itself. Somebody that finds this depressing needs to be in therapy.

 

[Guar_Fan]

Father Robert Barron suggested three practices which will increase the spiritual benefit of Lent: Focus, Pray and Practice Charity.

The first one involves identifying a diversion that most distracts you, and then taking steps to not allow it to eat up so much of your time. This will free up time to give back to God.

The second is to ask God in a very conscious way, each day of Lent, what He wants you to do, what He wants you to be. You could use an insistent and repetive prayer such as the rosary or the Jesus Prayer, or you could attend Mass daily, or you could seek out someone who has an active spiritual life and talk, with the objective of determining God’s will for you, or…

You could sit in pregnant silence before the Blessed Sacrament, keeping the holy hour that Peter, James, and John were unable to keep.

The third thing is to engage in a concrete act of charity every day.

Make several visits to your relative in the nursing home. Converse regularly with a lonely person on your block. Tutor and befriend a kid who might be in danger of losing his way. Repair a broken friendship. Bring together bickering factions at your place of work. Make a number of financial contributions to a worthy organization that needs help.

Fr. Barron compares Lent to a 40 day spiritual marathon. Try to think of it as a joyful and challenging adventure - not as a burden you are shouldering for God the taskmaster.

Here is the link to the whole article. Vittorio, your question was on my mind as well - I hope the article is of help.

 

[Vittorio23]

Thank you all for your responses, they have been very helpful. God bless.