Going away with God this Lent

                 As I have been contemplating various potential actions for this impending Lenten season, the one theme I keep coming back to is:  How can I (and my family) be closer to our Lord on Easter through our Lenten observances.  With just a few hours to go before Lent begins, I must say that I am still pondering this question.

                A visiting priest at our parish suggested that we begin with a blank slate.  In other words, forget what we “always” give up or offer and begin thinking anew about how the big three, prayer, fasting and almsgiving can give us a new viewpoint.

                The fact is that I need to find time to “go away with God” during this time.  My life is filled with work, family and volunteer activities, so much so that meeting, events and obligations sometime crash into each other.   This Lent, I need to find time to stop and listen to Him.  Ideally, I would go away, physically, but that is not practical in the next 40 days.

                I will commit to beginning my day with a formal morning offering, dedicating each day to the Lord.  In fact, I will memorize this morning offering, so by the end of Lent, I won’t have to find the prayer on paper or on the internet.

                I will not drink coffee for the next 40 days.

                I will blog each day.  This means that I need to find something worthwhile about my relationship with our Lord each day, and then take the time to think and write about it.  Many days, am a struck by a passage of scripture or something I have read, but the day disappears before I have a chance to clearly write about it.

                I will read, with my family, a Lenten book each night after dinner and share thought that we might have about the reading and prayer.

                Each week, I will participate in one act of worship outside of my normal routine.  This may include Stations of the Cross, Adoration or participation in a Lenten prayer service or day of reflection.

                And I will use a meditation on Mary to grow closer to her during this Lenten walk.

                I will reach out to the poor and homeless during this period for almsgiving.         

                I pray that these activities may bring me closer to our great and mighty triune God.  May my will conform to His will for my life.  May I be a brighter light in this world on Easter morning because of the time I spend away from the business of life, in the peace of the Lord this Lent.