And Our dear Lord advises us, “Amen, amen I say to you: if you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it you.” ( John 16:23). Also He said, “If you abide in me [i.e., “live in Me,” or “stay in the state of grace’’], and my words abide [“live”] in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you.” ( John 15:7). Further, Our Lord has said, “Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come, and to stand before the Son of man.” ( 21:36). And in the Book of Judith we read, “Know ye that the Lord will hear your prayers, if you continue with perseverance in fastings and prayers in the sight of the Lord.” ( Luke Judith 4:11). Our obligation to do apostolic work, no matter who we are, is seen in the general admonition of St. John the Baptist, “. . . make straight the way of the Lord. . .” ( John 1:23; Is. 40:3). The Church has used this counsel in her Advent liturgy, so we know it applies to all—at least to the extent that all must pray and do penance for the success of the Church’s missionary activity, help support it financially, and wherever possible take an active part in the conversion or reconversion of those we know. The primary purpose of Lent, of course, is to help us become truly holy—and we should work toward this goal during Lent by extra prayer, penance, good works, almsgiving, attendance at Mass and reception of the Sacraments (the chief sources of grace) and spiritual reading. This last is essential today in order to be inspired to do all the rest!
SPECIFIC PRACTICES TO CHOOSE FROM
1. Abstinence: This is the giving up of something we like to eat, drink, smoke, use, etc. (All Catholics 14 and over are currently required to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent.) We can abstain from (give up) meat on days other than those required, give up candy, sweets, dessert, pop, gum, coffee, tea, smoking, beer, wine, hard liquor, eating between meals, and/or our favorite foods and drinks, etc.
2. F asting: This is still required by the Church of all those age 18 through 59 on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but it is something which most people can do every day during Lent (Sunday is exempted, which was never a day of fasting), as used to be the rule. This was formerly required of all Catholics 21 through 59 years of age. The Catholic Church’s traditional method of fasting is to take only one full meal per day, at which meat may be eaten (unless it is also a day of abstinence), plus 2 small meals that together do not equal the main meal and at which no meat is eaten, with nothing eaten between meals. This is a mild form of fasting, but one which leaves a person always a little on the hungry side and ever cognizant that he is depriving himself of his regular fare. (Those doing hard physical labor were always able to be excused from the Lenten fast by their priest or confessor.)
3. T.V: We can drastically limit our T.V. viewing, give up favorite programs or eliminate T.V. viewing altogether.
4. Prayer:
• The daily Rosary. Our Lady urgently requested the daily recitation of the Rosary (5 decades) during of her six appearances at Fatima in 1917 (an approved Marian apparition).
• The First Saturday devotion, requested by Our Lady at Fatima. With regard to this devotion, Our Lady revealed to Sr. Lucy of Fatima on December 10, 1925, “I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who on the First Saturday of 5 consecutive months shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite 5 decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for 15 minutes, while meditating on the 15 mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me.” (A later revelation indicated that the Confession may be 8 days before or after the First Saturday and the meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary may be on as few as one of the mysteries. It does not need to be performed before the Blessed Sacrament.)
• An extra Mass or more each week. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the greatest prayer there is.
• A Holy Hour once a week, twice a week, or each day. This is one of the most underrated devotions in the Church. Our Lord Himself has said, “Could you not watch one hour with me?” ( Matt. 26:40). Granted, this was addressed to the Apostles in the Garden of Olives the night before He was crucified, but it can be applied to all of us generally—and how very, very few practice this powerful devotion! Archbishop Fulton Sheen made it the center of his daily devotions, after the Mass.
• Pray for those in Purgatory: We have an obligation to pray for our relatives and for anyone we may have harmed by our sins. A Rosary before the Blessed Sacrament after Mass is extremely efficacious for the Poor Souls and can lead to the gaining of a plenary indulgence—all other conditions for gaining a Plenary Indulgence also being fulfilled, i.e., 1) Confession a few days before or after performing the work,
2) reception of Sacramental Communion on the day when gaining the Plenary Indulgence,
3) some prayers for the intentions of the Pope on the day the work is done, and
4) freedom from attachment to sin (or, some say, at least a fervent desire and effort to be free from attachment to sin).
• Pray for those who are in danger of dying without being in the state of Sanctifying Grace. Such prayers should be offered to Our Lady to apply as she desires, for she sees clearly who really needs the extra graces at any given time. Worldwide, at least 266 people die every minute! And only some 17% of the world’s people are Catholic. Our Lord said, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believes not shall be condemned.” ( 16:16). Therefore, most people dying need conversion. It behooves us to pray for their conversion.
• Pray for anyone you may have had the misfortune to lead into sin.
• Pray for an end to abortion.
• Pray for peace in the world. The Old Testament tells us, “The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord: whithersoever he will, he shall turn it.” ( Prov. 21:1). Prayer can work miracles and change the hearts of even wicked rulers.
• Pray for priests! The devil is after them more than anyone else, because they help us with our salvation.
5. Go to Confession once a week: Frequent Confession is generally said to be once a month, but in the Devout Life Introduction to St. Francis de Sales recommends once a week, and St. Alphonsus Liguori says that anyone who is serious about saving his soul will go often, “at least once a week.” Some Saints went every day; many went several times a week. Just prior to Vatican II, priests in the U.S.A. were advocating once a week and getting about 1/3 to 1/2 compliance by the people in their parishes. This is one of the best ways to make progress in the spiritual life because we regularly stay focused on what we are doing wrong, and receive the grace of this Sacrament to correct our lives.
6. Examine your conscience every night: Review the day and what you did that might have displeased God; then, keep these things in mind for your next Confession.
7. Do penance: Our Lord has made it perfectly clear that penance is necessary for salvation. (See the quotes from Scripture above.) To Sr. Lucy of Fatima, He revealed that “The penance I now ask and require is that necessary for the fulfillment of My law and the performance of one’s daily duties.” (A pretty easy condition, indeed, and from a most merciful Master!)
8. Perform good works:
• Visit the sick
• Visit people in the nursing home once a week
• Counsel, picket or pray at abortion clinics.
• Join in the Pro-Life Rescue effort.
• Take someone to Mass with you on Sundays.
• Get someone with a marriage problem to see a priest.
9. Give alms:
• Increase your donation at Church.
• Give to cloistered monasteries and convents in your area.
• Support good Catholic schools.
• Support crisis pregnancy centers.
• Support local soup kitchens.
• Help those who are poor.
10. Do Apostolic work:
• Take someone to Mass with you.
• Take someone to Confession with you.
• Invite someone to become a Catholic—start talking to him about it. Get him to a priest for instruction.
• Get a priest to visit a fallen-away Catholic, especially an elderly one.
• Distribute Catholic books and booklets.
• Distribute prayer cards and leaflets.
11. Engage in spiritual reading:
• Require yourself to do at least 15 minutes of reading from a good Catholic book each day.
• Read your Bible at least 15 minutes each day. These Read from the life of a Saint for at least 15 minutes each day. ( are the heroes and heroines we should imitate.)
12. Consecrate your life to God and renew the consecration each day. Or, consecrate yourself to God through the Blessed Virgin Mary and read about and begin to practice “True Devotion to Mary.” Read St. Louis De Montfort’s book called True Devotion to Mary, greatest classics.
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