Revitalize Your Approach to Lent This Year

Lent is fast approaching.

Every year, as Lent gets closer and closer, we start planning for an epic season of fasting, prayer, and preparation. Lent is the season that prepares us for Easter, and in many ways, prepares us for the whole season after Easter and Pentecost.

A solid, challenging Lent can revitalize your whole year. 40 days of intense, intentional devotions will help you step forward into your life with new hope and new focus as the year progresses.

The three pillars of Lent are Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving. A good Lent will touch on each of these to varying degrees. Most of us know that already, but we still struggle to figure out what Lenten devotions to take on each year.

If you need some help making this Lent an amazing, challenging season of self-growth and intentional holiness, try taking your inspiration from some of these challenges.

Embrace tradition.

In my family, we follow the traditional, Byzantine fast. It’s a beautiful, rhythmic way of embracing fasting throughout the Lenten season. We abstain from eggs, dairy, meat, and sugar every day of Lent. On Saturdays and Sundays though, we do enjoy eating fish (though still not eggs or dairy). On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we also fast from oil and wine. It’s a challenging, intentional fast that allows for a lot of variation in intensity. Our weekends feel so celebratory, our Fridays are naturally deeply penitential.

The Latin rite has a similar tradition of challenging, meat-free fasts throughout the Lenten season. Even up to the mid-twentieth century, Latin Rite Lents were as deeply penitential as those in the East. One of the best ways to delve into the Lenten season is by embracing tradition. This year take on a traditional Lent.

Whether you chose to practice daily fasting or follow traditional abstinence rules, your Lent will be a challenge and an inspiration.

75 (or 40) Hard.

Have you heard of 75 Hard? It’s a lifestyle challenge that easily fits into the demands of Lent. Participants adhere to 4 or 5 challenging daily commitments—dietary restrictions, daily reading, exercise, and plenty of water. It’s a life changing, discipline-forming commitment that can leave you feeling healthier, more focused, and incredibly confident. After all, you’ve just done something really hard!

If the 75 Hard challenge appeals to you, try making it your Lenten commitment. For the next 40 days (no taking Sundays off!) commit to a Lenten meal plan, read ten pages daily of a soul-enriching book, exercise, drink a gallon of water each day, and add a daily rosary to the mix as well.

You’ll greet Easter with a fresh, new perspective. You may even want to incorporate aspects of your Lenten discipline into the rest of the year as well!

Minimalism challenge.

The first two focus a lot on fasting, and on the prayer that naturally comes with it. But let’s not neglect almsgiving. A great way to be intentional about giving to the less fortunate is to take stock of just how fortunate you are.

Minimalism challenges like 40 bags in 40 days or The Minimalism Game help us take stock of our belongings.

Go through your closets—most women have over 150 items of clothing, most of which we’ve only worn once or twice.

Try a no-spend challenge while clearing out all the extra things you don’t use, don’t love, or just don’t have space for.

There are so many people who will love and use your unwanted items. Bring them to a homeless shelter, a domestic violence shelter, or just drop them off at the local thrift store. You’ll end the Lenten season with a cleaner house and a less cluttered soul!

Daily prayers.

Maybe you’ve got all the fasting and almsgiving figured out, but your prayer life could use a little focus. Try adding in daily prayers for your future spouse, or prayers to know God’s will for your life. Entrusting our futures to God during Lent and beyond helps you hand over your hopes and dreams for the future to Christ.

A daily rosary for the intentions of your future spouse is a great way to hand everything over to the Blessed Mother.

Another great option is a Lenten prayer journal. Prayer journals allow you to really explore your hopes, dreams, and fears in a prayerful way. Pick out a few Scripture verses to guide you as a you journal each day of your Lenten journey.

Putting it all together.

You might be thinking that adopting one or two of these challenges will turn your Lent into an overwhelming season of self-improvement, and that’s not the point of Lent. You’re right—your Lenten season should be focused less on self-improvement, and more on penance and discipline.

Lent is a penitential season. We deny and discipline ourselves in order to focus more on Christ. These Lenten challenges can be incredibly spiritually beneficial, but only if your focus is on fasting, prayer, and almsgiving—not dieting and minimalism.

So, go all in this Lent! Find a few challenges that really encourage you to pray, fast, and give all season long. You can do it, don’t be afraid to dive headfirst into a challenging Lent.

You may find that this Lent starts a year of soul-feeding self-discipline and spiritual growth. Or you might find this Lent becomes an exercise in humility as you struggle to get through your commitments. Either way, God is working in your life this season as you work towards holiness. There really is nothing to lose!