Lent at the Cathedral

What is Lent? We all know Lent is the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Holy Thursday when we rededicate ourselves to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. But what does the word “Lent” mean? It’s an ancient German word that means “spring.” Yes, we’re now entering the spring season. But Lent isn’t just the changing of seasons. Lent is the changing of persons: us. Spring is the season of new life. Lent is the time when we are supposed to become new people. Lent is the time for us to make a concerted, intentional effort to look more like Christ.

Will giving up chocolate for Lent really make me look more like Christ? Maybe for a 4th grader.  But older disciples need to be more serious about how to pray, what to fast from, and how to give  alms in order to look more like Jesus. The purpose of Lent is to look more like Jesus by Easter.  Lent is literally life-changing. Jesus tells us in His Sermon on the Mount that we are to regularly  pray, fast, and give alms (Mt 6:1-18). Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving help us look more like Christ  because they turn us away from the three sources of temptation: Satan, the flesh, and the world.  Prayer is our weapon against Satan. Fasting is our weapon against lust of the flesh. Almsgiving is  our weapon against lust after the things of the world.  

Prayer - For Fighting Satan 

• Come to Daily Mass at 7a or 5:30p every day you can. 

• Come to Eucharistic Adoration Wednesdays 6-7p, Fridays 7:30a-5p, Saturdays 7:30a-3:30p as  often as you can.  

• Come to Lauds (Morning Prayer) weekdays at 8a and Vespers (Evening Prayer) weekdays at 5p.  Each lasts about 10 minutes.  

• Come to Sung Sunday Vespers Sundays 5p.  

• Go to Confession Monday - Saturday 7:30a, Monday - Friday 6p, and Saturdays 11a-12p.  • Come to Stations of the Cross Fridays 6p or 2:30p with our school students.  • Pray for our candidates who will become Catholic at the Easter Vigil. Prayer cards are located  next to the bulletins. 

• Make a Pilgrimage to 7 Churches on Holy Thursday night visiting their Altars of Repose (itinerary  forthcoming). 

• Talk to God every day. Start small. 5 or 10 minutes a day is a good start. Be consistent every  day and let God do the rest. Read and reflect on a short passage of Scripture. Take a copy of the  Magnificat Lent Companion. 

• Download the Hallow App and get all it’s premium content throughout Lent for $1. • And COME TO EVERY LITURGY OF HOLY WEEK (schedule on reverse). 

Fasting - For Fighting Sins of the Flesh 

• FASTING - CONSUMING LESS. Catholics 18-59 fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday  taking only one full meal on those days, and may supplement this with one or two smaller  meals. Come to our Ash Wednesday Soup Supper in the gym after the 5:30p Mass sponsored by  our Parish Council. 

• ABSTINENCE - GIVING UP MEAT. Catholics 14 and older abstain from meat on Ash  Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Friday’s throughout Lent. Actually, we are to abstain from meat  on all Fridays of the year, but we may do some other penance such as prayer or a work of charity  as a substitute on Fridays outside Lent. Some abstain from meat throughout the whole of Lent. 

• Another good practice is to Give Up One or More Luxuries for Lent. A few suggestions: Amazon  purchases, social media, YouTube, alcohol, desserts, tobacco, dining out, cream in your coffee,  major purchases.

Almsgiving - For Fighting Against Pride, Selfishness, and Materialism

• We will have Second Collections every Sunday for local charities in service to our poor and  neighbors in need including Catholic Worker House, Our Lady of the Road, St. Margaret’s  House, and more.  

• Take a CRS Rice Bowl for support of our neighbors in third world countries. • Our Good Friday Collection will be for the support of the Christian community and pilgrimage  sites of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection in the Holy Land.  

• Make a Pledge of Giving to our parish and fill out a commitment card.