Ash Wednesday, March 5, is the beginning of our Lenten journey to Easter joy. Traditionally, Catholics use this time to examine themselves, their strengths and weaknesses, their relationships, and most of all, their relationship with God. Is there a bad habit you've been meaning to address? Is there a new good habit you've been wanting to begin? Now is the time! The act of "giving something up" or adding a particular practice to our routine is all centered on our own interior growth- a denying of "self" and a new openness to God. The pandemic has definitely affected each one of us. We may be weary of "giving things up." Lent does not have to be harsh and solemn. Maybe this Lent, we can all search for joy and hope in our lives based on the Word of God. 

Lenten Regulations:

Abstinence from meat is to be observed by all Catholics 14 years old and older on Ash Wednesday and on all the Fridays of Lent. Fasting is to be observed on Ash Wednesday by all Catholics who are 18 years of age but not yet 59. If medical conditions necessitate, then Catholics are exempt from fasting or abstinence. Those who are bound by this may take only one full meal. Two smaller meals are permitted if necessary to maintain strength according to one‘s needs, but eating solid foods between meals is not permitted. The special Paschal fast, as well as abstinence, are also prescribed for Good Friday and encouraged for Holy Saturday.

Lenten Resources:

Prayer Meditation Guides
The USCCB has provided Eucharistic Prayer Guides using scripture and meditation to enrich your Lenten journey.  You can find them here.

The Chosen
Get to know Jesus through the eyes of those he ministered to in this multi-season series. Beginning with scripture, the producers have woven plausible story lines around what we already know to create an engaging and dynamic presentation of the ministry of Jesus Christ. There are currently 4 complete seasons of The Chosen.  All seasons can be viewed for free on The Chosen app.  It is also available on Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Roku TV, the CW and other streaming services. Season 5 will be released in theaters Spring 2025.

Daily Email Inspiration

• Sign up to get daily Lenten inspiration from Matthew Kelly at dynamiccatholic.com

• Loyola Press offers Living Lent Daily, an email program delivering fresh scriptural insights to your inbox. Other great resources can be found on their website.

Youtube

Do you like informative (and sometimes amusing) videos?

Try Ascension Presents, a Catholic YouTube site.
Ascension also offers Fr. Mike Schmitz's Bible in a Year and Catechism in a Year programs.

Television watchers, try EWTN - Eternal Word Catholic programming.

Radio listeners, try Relevant Radio 950 am Catholic radio. This Lent Fr. Rocky will give you daily insights to understanding the Sacraments better. Patrick Madrid offers apologetics from 8-11am, followed by spiritual direction from the Inner Life. Mass is celebrated at noon. The Faith Explained with Cale Clarke at 12:30pm dives into the the richness of Catholicism in simple language. A new addition, Trending with Timmerie features a millenial who embraces her Catholic faith and explains the beauty of God's plan for relationships, marriage and sexuality clearly to her audience.  So many great hosts and show - check it out yourself!

Apps - The Augustine Institute, creators of Formed.org offer a daily prayer meditation app called Amen.

Hallow is a popular app that offers a 90 day free trial after which there is a subscription cost.  Hallow features well known Catholic speakers and actor Johnathan Roumie, the actor who plays Jesus in The Chosen.