A Blessed Lenten 2024 Season

Looking for ways to make this Lent a meaningful one? During this season of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and returning to God we'd like to offer the following for your prayerful reflection.

Lent Penance Service at Mercy

Sacrament of Reconciliation - Mark your calendar for Tuesday, March 12. You can stop by to receive this sacrament anytime from 7:30 am-3:30 pm in our Mercy chapel.

Kate Bowler's Free Download Lent Journal

Have a Beautiful Terrible Lent! Click here to download a free copy.

Lenten Reflection

(Adapted from Br. Matt Wooters, SJ - follow him on social media @br_matt)

1. What's one concrete thing you can do for your immediate community? This might be for your family, your neighbors, co-workers, friends, classmates and teammates.

Examples: 

• Donating blood every ten days during Lent. Something that could really help people in need.
• Offering to babysit for free for a young couple in your neighborhood.
• Shoveling an elderly neighbor's snowy driveway.
• Seeing what the homeless shelter might need and buying groceries for them. 

2. What's one act of service you might repeat for your immediate crew? Or for strangers?

3. What's one thing taking up more space in your life than you'd like? Maybe there's something that might fill that space of the thing you give up? Reading a book or praying?

Examples: 

• What would it look like if you put your phone in the other room in the evening and didn't scroll until you fell asleep?

4. What's an addition to your prayer life you'd like to start? 

• What if you just list gratitudes each evening? Take ten minutes to notice the good in your life each day. 
• Pray the words Fr. Marko suggested in his Ash Wednesday Mass homily when you wake up and before you go to bed each night: "Jesus, I give you permission to love me the way you want to love me."
• You might commit to praying a few Hail Mary's each night.
• Perhaps you would like to strive to make it to Sunday Mass every week during Lent?
• A podcast to try: Pray as you Go. They read the Gospel, ask you questions then read the gospel. The whole thing takes 12 minutes. 
• What if you prayed on your drive to school? This could look like shutting off the music and noise and sitting in your car and talking to God on your way to Mercy in the morning.