3 Strategies to Engage in the Season of Lent
Think of Lent like a spiritual reset button; it’s a time to hit pause on the everyday busy-ness and focus on what really matters – your faith and getting closer to God.
We start Lent with a very special service: Ash Wednesday. On Ash Wednesday, the Body of Christ gathers to enter this time of devotion corporately. During the service, we look at our mortality and the consequences of our sins. Traditionally, in the Bible, times of penitence were marked by the wearing of sackcloth and ashes. At the Ash Wednesday service, the forehead of each believer is marked with ashes in the sign of the cross, and we are reminded through these ashes that we are “but dust and to dust we shall return” (Genesis 3:19). These are the very words God spoke to Adam and Eve after they committed the first sin in the garden of Eden and they remind us that we too have “sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Adapted from The Liturgical Home: Lent by Ashley Tumlin Wallace
Ever feel like life is just too busy? Lent is a chance to slow down and breathe. It’s like a training period for our souls, helping us get stronger and more connected to Jesus.
Who do you need to engage in the season of Lent?
*Use this as a “personal guide” to engage others during Lent.
Let’s get ready! Think about these questions:
- What has been your experience with Lent in the past?
- What does this season mean to you?
- How can getting closer to Jesus help you be a better disciple? …a better leader?
Lent is also about doing stuff, not just thinking. So, ask yourself:
- Is there something in your life that you want to focus on?
- What’s something you could give up to help you focus? (It doesn’t have to be food! Maybe it’s screen time or complaining.)
- What’s one thing you can do to get closer to Jesus during Lent?
Lent isn’t a race! It’s more like a long walk. I’ll be sharing some thoughts each week to help us along the way, but you can totally make this journey your own.
This Lent, open your heart and slow down! Like Elizabeth Barrett Browning famously said, „Earth’s crammed with heaven.“ We have to open our eyes to see it! Make this Lent meaningful!
3 Strategies to Make Lent Significant:
- Share your Lent goals with each other!
- Check out relevant resources like devotionals, prayer guides, and fasting tips.
- Get together for prayer or reflection.
I’ll share my own journey too, so we can all learn together.
As we journey through the weeks leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion and eventual resurrection. I will draw from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius (1491-1556). Don’t worry, it’s not just about what happened a long time ago. You’ll find stuff in there that helps you be a better disciple and more effective leader – and how to help others follow Jesus, build meaningful relationships, and grow their faith.
My initial impression of the Spiritual Exercises is that there are a lot of moving parts:
- There are four “weeks” (not a literal week but a period of time)
- Each “week” is broken down into sections.
- Each section is broken down into days (numbers 1-7)
The exercises were designed to be done in a retreat setting over 30 consecutive days with a listener, who would listen to the ponderings of the retreatant. As time went on, the number of retreatants outnumbered the number of available listeners, so now there exist variations. For example, one iteration is the 19th Annotation, which can be done at a more comfortable pace, on a flexible schedule to accommodate people’s lives that are not in full-time vocational ministry.
My point for mentioning this is that, at the beginning of each section, a “grace” (or in my plain interpretation – a prayer of intent) is introduced or emphasized. The “grace” is a guiding prayer that serves as a backdrop for the daily exercise. Here is the “grace” for the first week of Lent:
“The grace you are seeking is to sorrow with Christ in sorrow, anguish with Christ in anguish, with tears and interior suffering because of the suffering Christ endured for you.”
Try this during Lent!
Perhaps you read through the following passages on this schedule beginning on Ash Wednesday or the following Monday:
- Day 1 – II Cor 5:21
- Day 2 – John 13:1
- Day 3 – John 13: 2-12
- Day 4 – Review the past three days.
- Day 5 – Matthew 26:20-30
- Day 6 – Matthew 26:31-35
- Day 7 – Review the past three days.
Journey with Jesus by Larry Warner
What to do with the “grace“?
- Use the “grace” as a point of reflection.
- Engage in prayer.
- Recall it throughout your day.
One of the practices that Ignatian introduced was the Prayer of Examen. There are lots of ways to do a Prayer of Examen. I would suggest that you set aside time (morning-noon-night) and reflect on the following:
- How did you recall the grace?
- How did this play out in the way you treated people?
- How did you die to yourself today?
Or come up with an activity of your own.
You will find yourself slowing down. Discovering new insights. Creating new rhythms to your daily routine. Most of all, my prayer is that you fall more and more in love with Jesus as you journey with Him.
Photo by Kevin Turcios on Unsplash