Lent begins this Wednesday, and I’m sure many of you have yet to think about how you plan on spending the 40 days until Easter. College is stressful and brings along many distractions, so it makes sense if your relationship with God isn’t where you want it to be. So, to help you get started on your Lenten devotions, here are 10 ideas to help prepare you for the next 40 days.
1. Read a book
As much as I advocate for reading (fiction, non-fiction, etc.), this Lent, think about dedicating your precious hours to a book written by a saint or something that will bring you closer to God. If that doesn’t appeal to you, then pick up something that helps you learn more about your faith. Do some research and find a book that speaks to you! Here is a great link to get your research started.
2. Have a prayer schedule
I feel like a majority of college Catholics do not pray as much as they’d like to. Maybe you always say you are going to and forget, or have just never thought about it before—whatever is the case, Lent is the perfect time to change your routine. Make a set schedule where you pray to God, say the Rosary, etc. at a certain time of the day and repeat throughout all 40 days.
3. Give up something in order to improve your relationship with God
We’ve all given up something that has nothing to do with Lent. Unless chocolate and sweets keep you far from God, do yourself a favor and give up something else. I like to kill two birds with one stone and give up something that costs money and donate the money I save to a charity or organization. No, I didn’t get to enjoy that delicious, overpriced coffee from Starbucks, but the money I saved went to an organization and did some good.
4. Go to Confession
Not every day or every week, but go. I recommend starting off Lent with a really good, long Confession and ending Lent with another one. Hopefully, you’ll spend the month thinking about the sins you commit habitually so that your end-of-the-month Confession can help you reflect on the areas in which you improved.
5. Truly work on one of your habitual sins
Speaking of which, I recommend that you spend the month really thinking about the areas you should work on in your life. If you gossip a lot, try to gossip less (and don’t just tell yourself you will—actually do it!).
6. Go to Mass more than once a week
For those of us who are guilty of missing Mass every now and then, I think this idea will be most beneficial for helping you connect with God this Lent. You can think of it like giving an extra hour of your Thursday (or any day) every week to devote yourself to God.
7. Embrace Silence
Last year, I gave up music for Lent. I love music, and constantly have my headphones in, but I noticed that I really wasn’t spending as much time praying and talking to God as I would have liked. So for Lent, I gave up music and spent my time talking to God or just embracing the silence. It was particularly hard during the long drives to school every day, but after a while, I got used to the silence and was able to feel comfortable enough to spend my time praying.
8. Fast
We could all probably improve when it comes to fasting (ah, it’s Friday!), but maybe you could take your fasting a step further and expand it to other days of the week. I’ve heard of people doing Meatless Mondays in addition to Fridays or giving up drinks other than water and donating the money they save. Once again, though, think about whether giving up a certain thing will bring you closer to God. If it doesn’t, then why do it? And in case you forgot about how hard it was last year, here's a little visual to remind you what fasting on Ash Wednesday is going to feel like:
9. Dedicate yourself to a charity or organization
Another fun idea is to dedicate your month to a specific organization or charity. Set aside money every week, spread awareness for the cause, or volunteer your time. It would truly be a month well spent.
10. Give more than you usually do
Think about the money you donate to charities and try to spend Lent giving even more. Even if it’s just $1 more, your donations can help more than you think. Outside of money, think about giving something else during Lent. Donate your time and volunteer at a cool organization. Give some extra love to your friends and family members by spending more time calling them or sending handwritten letters.
Like I said, these are just ideas and can be great starting off points for whatever you’d like to do for the upcoming month. With a little more research, you’ll be ready and excited to kick off the month.
