When we speak of Lent we speak in the terms of “the desert,” we are recalling a real and decisive moment in the life of Jesus Christ.
Before He began preaching, healing, and gathering disciples, He withdrew into the wilderness for forty days of fasting, prayer, and temptation.
For forty days, the Church invites us to step spiritually into that same landscape: to quiet distractions, to fast from excess, and to face honestly what competes for our understanding of Truth.
The theme of Lententide, is not just deprivation but deliberate simplification. In entering the “desert” with Christ, we prepare, as He did, for mission, for renewal, and ultimately for the joy of resurrection.
Shopping/Homecraft – list:
Prepare your altar area or a calm corner with the following and also note that all items should be made or gotten, new or unmarked.
- White or Pastel Candle
- Pen, pencil, marker pen
- Journal (themes: desert or academic; minimalist)
Let’s take a refresher:
Lent; 40-day penitential season, where your inner-spirit Prepares for Pascha-Easter, Pascua-Resurrección – by joining in Christ’s time in the desert. It’s not meant to be gloomy, it’s meant to clear space in the self and soul so that grace can move more freely within us.
Lent is the time of the year when we simplify our life with purpose. We hold back from comforts, we accept the love we have for those around us; and we remind ourselves of the love we have for our own body.
The intent for this tide is to relax the heart area, the use of deep breathing, and the spiritual and physical movement to ready oneself to celebrate Pascua.
Give Thanksgiving and reflect deeply, honestly and unabridged.
When to make the sign of the cross. When death is a real fear, or the pain of near-death is a real fear, the sign of the cross is a reminder that you too, have taken up the cross, and that you too, is a willing sacrifice for the Glory of God. Awemen.
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Lententide Start and End Hours
Lent officially begins at 12:00 AM (midnight) at the top of Ash Wednesday.
Lent officially ends before the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday (often on 5–7 PM of Holy Thursday).
Lententide Fasting Meal Guide
Ash Wednesday:
- Enjoy 1/2 breakfast; half portions, no sugars.
- Enjoy 1/2 lunch; half portions, no sugars.
- Give Grace and enjoy a Full dinner, no sugars.
- Must be vegan, vegetarian or fish.
Good Friday
- Enjoy 1/2 breakfast; half portion, no sugars.
- Enjoy 1/2 lunch; half portions, no sugars.
- Give Grace and enjoy a Full dinner, no sugars.
- Must be vegan, vegetarian or fish.
How to: Observe Everyday During Lententide
Choose your Pascua Pause
[Insert the pause (indulgence) you will step away from.]
Journal Everyday at Morning, Noon and Night.
Title: LENT [Year] REFLECTIONS
- Pray and light your candle
- Pause
- Observe any inner tempests – write it down
- Observe any maxims or reflection – write their echoes
- Observe all inner learning – write unabridged
After you have spent your understanding, give Grace and extinguish the candle.
Lententide Hours
Prayer and Reflection
Lent is not about participating more, or doing more religious homework. It’s about reflecting about the self, to know God.
Morning and Noon BEFORE meals, at the same time:
- A moment of silent personal prayer
- A decade of the Rosary (Observant Latin)
- Read specific Scripture (Matthew 4, Mark 1, Luke 4)
The goal is to reflect what you are feeling and thinking, to know self and to know God.
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Evening and BEFORE dinner, at the same time:
- A moment of silent personal prayer
- Pray the Stations of the Cross on each Friday
Evening AFTER dinner, at the same time:
- A moment of silent personal prayer
- Spend time in Eucharistic Adoration on any given time during tide.
The goal is to reflect what your feeling and thinking, to know self and to know God.
Almsgiving in Action
Lent is also a time to share love for one another by giving Alms. Here are some ways to observe:
- Give money to the poor or those in need
- Donate food; pantries, shelters, animal shelters
- Helping someone without expectation of payment
- Volunteering
- Practice patience with ALL around you
In closing, let us remember that Lent is not:
Self-punishment, or spiritual performance, or some kind of a misery contest.
What Lent is meant to provide:
- A returning to God through the self
- Letting go of attachments through gentle release
- Repentance with hope through reflection
- Remembering that our bodies are ultimately dust, but that our Soul are deeply Loved and have been remade Eternal.
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