fbpx
Catholic Counselors
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

  • Sign In
  • Log Out
  • Cart

Contact

  • Services
    • Pastoral Tele-Counseling Services
    • Faith-Based Success and Performance Coaching
    • Catholic HOM
    • Join Our Team
  • Radio/Podcasts
    • More2Life Radio
    • More2Life Podcast
    • Momfidence Podcast
  • Quizzes
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Courses
      • Catholic Vision of Love and Marriage
      • Refrain
  • Blog
  • Videos
    • Spirituality & Prayer
      • Mass & Ritual
      • Virtue
      • Prayer
      • Discipleship
      • Sacraments
      • The Rosary
      • The Beatitudes
      • Forgiveness
      • Emotional Health
    • Parenting
      • Family Closeness
      • Family and Faith
      • Building Character
      • 7 Building Blocks
    • Marriage & Sexuality
      • Couple Communication
      • Marriage Building
      • Marriage and Faith
      • Healthy Sexuality
      • Infertility
      • Prayers
      • Pornography & Masturbation
      • Resolving Sexual Conflict
      • Divorce & Annulments
    • Life & Work
      • Prayers
      • God & Work
      • Faith @ Work
      • The Moral Life
      • Pornography
      • Singles
      • Grief
      • Life Hacks
    • Still Birth
  • Support Us

Having a Plan for Lent

Posted on February 6, 2018 by GREG
Guest post by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, director of the Pastoral Solutions Spiritual Direction Services
It’s very easy, amid the hustle and bustle of life, to allow Lent to sneak up on us. As a result, we may find ourselves receiving ashes without any clear idea how to participate in the grace that is Lent. Like many, we may simply default to what we did last year perhaps giving up sweets or adding prayer or even volunteering in some corporal work of mercy.  While these are certainly good, in themselves and without the proper spiritual disposition, they can lead to simply fulfilling our obligations and nothing more.  Lent, like all things important, needs a plan; a specific strategy with one goal in mind, to enter more fully into Christ’s passion so that, on Easter, we may enter more fully into His resurrection.  
 
Prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Church specifically set aside a liturgical time to prepare for Lent. Lasting from what was called Septuagesima Sunday to Shrove Tuesday, this three-week period just prior to Lent reminded the faithful that the Lenten season was right around the corner and to get ready. The old English word Shrove means “to hear” as in hearing confessions. Thus, among other things, it was the practice to enter Lent in a state of grace and not wait until Holy Week. This medieval practice should give us a hint as to the first step in any Lenten plan.  By entering Lent in a state of grace, we are better able to practice Lent with the spiritual vigor necessary to embrace our Lord’s passion. 
 
Beyond making a good confession, and following the prescribed Lenten days of fast and abstinence, it is customary for Catholics to engage in additional penitential practices for the whole of Lent. Though they can fall into three general categories (prayer, fasting and almsgiving); these additional practices, while strongly encouraged, are not regulated by the Church. I typically advise my spiritual directees, as we devise their Lenten plan, to consider a practice counter to one of their biggest spiritual challenges. If, for example, custody of the tongue (gossip) is an issue, we can develop a plan around this vice with corresponding virtues that may include more prayer, fasting and corporal works of mercy.  This approach, which can continue in some form beyond Lent, enables them to address specific attitudes and behaviors that impede greater intimate communion with Jesus Christ.    
 
There are three guiding principles that can make a Lenten plan successful.  First, it needs to be clearly focused on one major spiritual challenge.  To be sure, we all struggle with many challenges, but if we try to address all or even some of them together, we can become easily overwhelmed. Second, the penitential practice should be reasonable and measured.  This is where a confessor, spiritual director or even confidant can be helpful.  Third, make some provision for failure.  Circumstances may change or we may become weak and, as a result, fail to fulfill some of our plan. The danger here is an abandonment of the plan all together. This is why I suggest building into the plan a way to “bounce-back.” 
 
Just as the cross is essential to the resurrection, so a good Lent is essential to a good Easter.  Taking some time to plan provides the opportunity to pick up our cross and more closely follow Jesus who, in the midst of our Lent, draws so close to us that he can embrace us. 
For spiritual direction, contact us at 740-266-6461 or visit us at https://www.catholiccounselors.com/spiritual-direction/
Posted in Church, faith, Personal Wellness, reconciliation, Spirituality | Tagged catholic newsletter, counseling, faith, More2life, spiritual direction, Spirituality

Recent Posts

  • Let’s Talk: How to Start Family Conversations That Matter
  • Let’s Talk: How to Start Family Conversations That Matter
  • How to Defuse Conflict by Asking the Right Questions
  • Loving Difficult People: A Catholic Approach to Annoying Behavior
  • From Struggle to Strength: Letting ‘Glimmers of God’ Light the Way

Archives

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Services

  • Pastoral Tele-Counseling Services
  • St. Sebastian Center
  • Our Counselors
  • More2Life
  • Privacy Policy
  • Permission to Treat
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Quizzes

  • Marriage and Sexuality
  • Parenting & Family
  • Life & Work
  • Spirituality

Shop

  • Courses
  • Bookstore
  • Blog
  • Support Us
  • Sign In
  • Log Out
  • ShopCartIcon

Videos

  • Spirituality & Prayer
  • Marriage & Sexuality
  • Parenting
  • Life & Work