Lent is a time to reset ourselves, to pare away that which doesn’t matter, and to focus on the important, and when it comes to the season of Lent, there are so many great resources (whether it be books, websites, etc) that we all can look to in order to educate ourselves about what this season is all about. But when it comes to our Lenten resolutions, I believe that the best place to look is within yourself. What parts of yourself would you like to change? What do you need to do for your soul to grow closer to God? I also think that, while it is wonderful to give up a certain thing (i.e. social media, food, Netflix), it’s even greater to add something to your life, especially some sort of faith-related action. There are tons of ways you can do that. You could resolve to pray a rosary every single day or read passages from the Bible daily. Perhaps you’d want to journal for 10 minutes a day. One thing I’d like to suggest is praying a specific prayer known as The Examen.
The Examen is a method of daily personal prayer gifted to us by the Catholic saint, Ignatius of Loyola in his famous writing, The Spiritual Exercises. Essentially, the Examen encourages us to reflect on our daily highs and lows as a means of exploring God’s presence in our lives as well as how to live out our unique callings to be human beings who put forth God’s love into the world. By reflecting on each day, you have the opportunity to see how God was working in ways you may not have expected, and it allows us to focus on Christ throughout the many distractions of the day. The Examen is an easy, approachable, informal way to deepen your relationship with God by finding Him every day, even when it may be difficult to do.
To add another layer to this Lenten resolution, I’d also suggest to jot down each of your daily examens in a journal. When Easter comes, you’ll have the amazing opportunity to look back and see the progress as well your strong growth of awareness of where God is in your life.
All you need is an honest heart, the desire to be with God, and a few minutes each day. These all together will make for a great journey through Lent.