How to Rock this Lent Like Never Before

Pope Francis has asked that in this Jubilee Year of Mercy the season of Lent might “be lived more intensely as a privileged moment to celebrate and experience God’s mercy.”

In other words, he’s asking us to rock this Lent like never before!

How can we "live more intensely” this “privileged moment” and "favourable time for conversion"? He tells us:

By prayerful and attentive listening to God’s word and by practicing the works of mercy.

Everyone can rock this Lent like never before in two steps! Now, how this will look in your life may be different from the exact application in mine. But we can all do it.

Let’s look at the two steps:

1) Prayerful and attentive listening to God’s word

Pope Francis speaks of God’s covenant with Israel as “a history of mercy.” One in which prevailing images for the God of love include father of a rebellious son, or husband to an unfaithful wife.

We fall, and he loves anyways, desiring our return and reconciliation. This is mercy.

And it culminates with the saving death of Jesus.

How can we keep this before our eyes during Lent? Well, we might:

• Go to daily Mass more often
• Read the readings of the season
• Pray the Stations of the Cross on Fridays
• Get up a little earlier and read the Bible in the morning quiet, thinking how it relates to our own life

2) Practicing the Works of Mercy

Ok, we should review what these are. Who can name the two types? Anyone…?

Hint: Corporal and Spiritual.

Corporal

• Feed the hungry
• Give drink to the thirsty
• Clothe the naked
• Shelter the homeless
• Visit the sick
• Visit the imprisoned
• Bury the dead

The last one may not be as applicable today as it was in Jesus’ day, but all the rest are something each of us can contribute to directly or indirectly.

For Lent, we might try to be as direct as possible. Can you see a way to engage in any of these and the following works?

Spiritual

• Admonish the sinner
• Instruct the ignorant
• Counsel the doubtful
• Comfort the sorrowful
• Bear wrongs patiently
• Forgive all injuries
• Pray for the living and the dead

Now you may be thinking, “Woah woah woah, I was just going to give up chocolate for Lent! What’s all this?"

I’m not saying don’t give up chocolate (or whatever). Do that, but also do this. That is, if you really want to rock it this Lent.

In the corporal works of mercy we touch the flesh of Christ in our brothers and sisters who need to be fed, clothed, sheltered, visited; in the spiritual works of mercy – counsel, instruction, forgiveness, admonishment and prayer – we touch more directly our own sinfulness.

Do we want this? To touch Christ, and to know more intimately our own sinfulness?

Because not everyone will want to rock Lent. Not everyone will want to pray over these things and the word of God regularly. Not everyone will want to get their hands dirty in helping others, and recognize their own need for God’s mercy.

But I hope that you do.

Do you want to help others rock this Lent like never before? Please share this article on your channels!