Lent: One Week and Counting

Jeff Mirus of www.CatholicCulture.org gives his readers one week’s notice for Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

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Lent: One Week and Counting

I've said before that many of us don't realize we're not keeping Lent very well until about half-way through, or sometimes even long about Good Friday. So here's my call for an alliance of the weak and ineffectual: Let's do it right this year!

Ash Wednesday is just a week away. It is time now to gather a few materials together, schedule some additional periods of prayer, consider what special sacrifices you'll make, and plan some alms-giving. Here's a short list of items to help you get started:

Set the theme by reading Pope Benedict XVI's Message for Lent for 2008.

Work on practicing the presence of God. Here's a web site devoted to the methods of an acknowledged master, the famous 17th century Carmelite, Brother Lawrence: Practice God's Presence.

Think about using Lent to build virtue. Mark Lowery explains what this means in The Virtue-Driven Life.

Get ideas and resources for yourself and your family from our Lenten Workshop.

Hit the ground running on Ash Wednesday (includes the rules for fasting and abstinence).