Lent is coming...

"Yet even now," says the LORD, 

"return to me with all your heart,

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning" 

(Joel 2, 12)

Ash Wednesday is next week, and it's a good time to start thinking about this season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. My family is planning to observe Lent 2015 by:

Prayer
-Wake up every morning with a happy heart.
-Pray the Morning Offering together (in the get out the door to school rush, this has been going by the wayside).
-Pray the Divine Mercy chaplet every afternoon.
-Attend Friday evening Stations/Mass.

Fasting
-Give up family Friday "pizza and a movie night."
-Give up personal media consumption when the kids are awake.
 -No sweets except for birthdays/feast days.

Almsgiving
-Donate to our parish school.
-Respond to community requests to bring meals to families in need.

On the practical side, it's not a bad idea to stock up on groceries for easy meatless meals, like canned tuna, frozen fish, canned or dried beans, and pasta or rice.  Check out some ideas from 40 Meatless Meals of past years, and we'll be offering some new recipes in the days to come.

 Image source: "Fałat Julian, Popielec" by Julian Fałat - http://www.agraart.pl/cgi-bin/obiekt.cgi?act=1&qt=1208148193&nr=578. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.