Improving your Lent Experience Part 1

Back in 2005, I posted 40 Ways to Improve Your Lenten Experience from Karen Marie Knapp’s blog at From the Anchor Hold. She posted it on February 26, 2006 from the Catholic Herald. I’m dividing it into four parts with some updates, tweaks, links, and suggestions.

John at Flickr, licensed creative commons

1. Learn about your patron saint.

2.  Start Praying the Divine Office with your spouse in the morning if you’re married. or in the car on the way to work if time is short. Mothers at home can do this with their children or around the children’s sleep schedule.
Divine Office App

3. Pray for — by name — people you don’t like and for people that don’t like you.

Prayer for enemies
Catholic prayer for enemies
Forgiveness bible verses. 

4. Read a Catholic magazine.
Catholic Periodical List
Catholic Answers
Magnificat
Crisis Magazine
Adoremus
Envoy

5. March 19, in honor of St. Joseph, patron saint of carpenters and fathers, build or build upon a relationship with one of your children.

6. Buy two of everything on your grocery list, and give the duplicates to the local food pantry.
What do Food Pantries Need?
What Food Pantries Need the most

7. Find out why you should have fun on Laetare Sunday, and then do so.

8. Start a “cuss bowl.” For every unkind word you utter, put in a dollar — two dollars during Holy Week. The Rice Bowl would be a good place for this too!

9. Bring a “Baltimore Catechism” to a gathering of Catholic friends, and start asking each other questions.

10. Organize your home, the Domestic Church!

11. Pray for those, e.g., children, parents, spouse, siblings, who have left the church.
Prayer for Lapsed Catholics

12. Talk to a neighbor you rarely or never talk to.