Lenten Goals

I've said it before and I'll say it again- Lent is my favorite Liturgical Season! If you are unfamiliar with Lent, you can check out American Catholic's Lent page. Very basically, it is a liturgical season in the Catholic Church (and some other Christian denominations) where the people prepare thier souls/spirit for the miracle of Easter. It lasts the 40 days (not including Sundays) before Easter. To become closer to the Lord, there are three areas we can focus on:

1. Prayer

2. Fasting

3. Almsgiving

I like to set my goals to cover all three areas. Another wonderful thing about Lent/Easter is that adults who are preparing to be baptised or converted to the Catholic Faith, are brought into the Church during the Easter Vigil. I will be celebrating my 4 year spiritual birthday this Easter! April 2007 was when I was baptised. I have come SO far in these past 4 years and have a long way to go. Lent is wonderful because we can renew what we (or our parents) started with our Baptism! On to my goals:

Prayer

I am a scholar at heart. It is much easier for me to read something that someone else learned and then apply it to my life than to try to start from scratch. I decided that for my "prayer" goal, I needed reading material. After much forthought, I decided upon the following:

Jesus of Nazareth, Part Two Holy Week by Pope Benedict XVI 
I am still looking for a cheap/free devotional

Fasting

This is the most popular tradition of Lent that non-Catholics know about. We fast from meat on Fridays and completely on certain holy days during Lent. We also sometimes choose to "give up" something else. Many people choose things such as sweets and fast food. I like to make it even harder on myself and choose things that I think would be nearly impossible. This year I am giving up spending money.

Yes, you read it right. There are a few reasons to my madness. First, I am unemployed during the summer and my "summer" starts before Easter. Therefor our income level will be dropping a bit. We have a goal of finally going on a trip to see my family in Pennsylvania this summer and I think this will help us get the money together!

Almsgiving

Basically, this is sharing what you've got. My long time Lenten committment has been to clear out clutter. I clear clutter so often that I wonder if there will be enough left for Lent. There always is plenty left! I take everything that I clear out and give it to someone who needs it. This is so much fun to me because I am doing something nice and then I look around and my home is more peaceful and harmonious. Also for almsgiving, I am taking some of the money I am saving from my fasting and donating it to whatever cause my children choose for thier Lenten Goals!

I hope you enjoyed reading about my goals. I would love to read yours! Please leave a link in the comments if you have a post with your goals! Check back for more on my kids' goals soon!

Thanks for stopping by! Alicia