Lent is a beautiful time of year. Today marks the beginning with Ash Wednesday. I know a lot of people are giving up various things, like chocolate, internet, etc., but what are you doing to bring yourself closer to Jesus as well as your call to religious life? Are you fasting? How are you preparing? How close are yout to giving God your "YES" and do you have any special Lenten tradtions within your family?

For me, I am not giving up chocolate (I don't really eat it anyway), I am giving of myself to others who are disadvantaged, to be reminded of how Christ suffered and to offer myself and my time to those who have not (whether it be food, money, family, God whatever). I am doing this by volunteering with the homeless and offering more in the nursing home I work at. So many elderly have no one to visit them. Like one woman in my nursing home...she is 103. Everyday she tells me she wants to die. No one ever visits her, her son is an alcoholic and never visits. There are many people suffering like this. For me, I see it everyday because it is in my line of work. Nursing Homes can be depressing places. So, if you are looking for something to do, to give of yourself, you can't go wrong visiting the elderly. They are easily forgotten.

I also have a Lenten Day of Retreat planned as well as some Lenten Bible Study every week with a group that hangs out at the Pauline bookstore.

A family tradition I have during Lent is The Divine Mercy Chaplet. I used to say this with my grandmother at the conclusion of the Easter season/Lent.

As far as my discernment, I am taking it slow. I think that meditating on the mysteries of Christ this Lenten season will bring me closer to my "yes" to Jesus.

I am praying that everyone has a Blessed Lent and you are brought ever closer to the mystery of Christ!

Your sister in Christ,
Lauren

PS. If you have time, please visit the elderly... this Lent.

Lent... well since I am not baptized or confirmed, I came to partake in giving something up, whilst I made a "death deal" with my great friends, -they are going to try and tempt me into eating sweets everyday for Lent- I told them, "I shall forever more remain faithfully to my Lord!"

I am settleling in and recording Truth In The Heart

Are you going to be baptized this year or next?

THIS YEAR!!!!!!!!!! April 15th Easter Vigil, 2006 -Baptism and Confirmation!!!!

Also thats the same day this year were Sister Mary Philomena FSGM renews vows! We were sooooooooooo excited, we are both baseball prayer partners now - hitting it hard - or should I say praying for one another hard.

That's awesome! I think it's great when young people decide to convert to Catholicism! I'm teaching a girl who is 17 and wants to be baptized Catholic. I will definitely pray for you over the next 40 days (plus some Sundays!)

Thanks jgirl! Much needed, I will pray for you as well.

My throat hurts - I've made three songs in the past day, one is titled "Sister Joseph Andrew", haha, the others: FUTURESOROR Heheh! "Offic Book and Rosary" and "(Psalm 121)"

CONGRATULATIONS and WELCOME!!! Oh that is so awesome and you are going to be filled with SO many graces, it's a most wonderful experience!!! I was received on April 10, 2004 (baptism, confirmation and first communion) and the easter vigil is SOOOO beautiful, I will definately be keeping you in my prayers!!

As for what I'm doing for lent, I have a little book that has a scripture reading every day of lent that has a prayer and meditation with it also. I am abstaining from meat throughout the whole season of lent and I'm giving up all junkfoods and not eating out. I am also doing again my "fault jar" which is each lent I find something that I really need to work on (ie. swearing, or complaining etc) and each time I slip I put 25 cents in my "fault Jar" and at the end of lent that money is donated to the st. vincent de paul, it helps me become aware of my faults, work harder on my faults and in the end helps me and someone else, and I'm also doing the operation rice bowl and the money I save from not eating out etc I will donate. I also am spending even more time in prayer and I've decided on my days off I'm going to get up at midnight to pray matins and offer up all those prayers for the conversion of sinners, and I've got some wonderful books I plan to read (and re-read for the millionth time "The Sinners Guide" LOVE that book!) most of all I plan to spend even more time with my lord and really getting to know and LOVE him even more and striving to become more christlike! as for my discernment, from the first time I began to discern I had given my lord my YES and so I am going to continue to pray, persevere and just leave it all in his hands!!!

I wish you all a most Blessed Lent!!!

God Bless You!

From my lenten day of prayer with the Jesuits!
Just wanted to share!
~Lauren

Metanoia
From my day of Lenten reflection with Father J. Michael Sparough, SJ and Dr. Wendy Cotter, CSJ...... Thanks for the challenge to change, how perfect a challenge in this blessed season of Lent!

Charis ministries (I highly recommend it). If you are in Chicago that is!

Metanoia: "the shifting of minds".

explanation....and how this all tied in with scripture and Lent.....

Metanoia, a Greek word meaning a change of mind. A radical revision and transformation of our whole mental process. That change of mind is something whereby God takes center place in our consciousness, in our awareness, and in our minds. Metanoia means a new mind. About what? About who we are. ...If tonight you're hearing with your heart, it's time for metanoia. It's time for a new mind about yourself and about life. Metanoia is the idea of the need for conversion. And this is then recognizing that we don't know, truthfully don't know, God and truthfully don't feel ourselves as God intends us to. We really need metanoia, which is allowing the grace of God to enter into our lives and teach us how to see ourselves and how to come to the true self.

But in order for you to grasp it, you have to be able to undergo something like this: a conversion and transformation and change of heart and mind Metanoia is a new-minded way of looking at life. And, in the broader sense, contrition involves a change of mind. And that is really what is meant by the Greek word, "metanoia," whereby we start thinking anew about everything.

So I need to really find out what God really is (to me) and who God is (to me) and what God wants for me. What does he want? What does He ask of me? What is His will? Does it bring peace?

So it's an idea of stretching or pushing beyond the boundaries with which we normally think and feel. Now when we push beyond the boundaries what we are doing is we are allowing God really to take an active role in our formation.

It means new mindedness, new change of mind and change of heart in the Hebrew sense of heart---how you think. And what we have to learn basically is how trustworthy God is, and how in every single situation, no matter what it is, no matter how painful, God is to be trusted. He not only loves us, be He is to be trusted. God is always present. So God is always inviting us into more life, and so to be questioning our own ways and our own habits is a good thing--and letting go of rigidity.

Thus His entire mission was begun by announcing the need for metanoia, sometimes translated "repentance." But repentance does not mean simply regretting some action or some word. Repentance means completely turning around one's life and one's being. A change, a profound change, of mind and even character. In the Bible, in the New Testament, this change is called "metanoia," often translated repentance. But it's not a backward-looking glance of regret; it's a forward-looking vision of hope. Metanoia is a new openness to what is truly objective, beyond ourselves, our view of life, how we put the data together.

Lauren,

Thanks for sharing this on Metanoia, that was very helpful!!

God Bless you!

I read an article today that was very helpful for me, regarding Lenten observances. One of the suggestions in the article was about being charitable toward others. Sometimes I lack patience, especially towards those I am closest to. This article would have been helpful to me during my vacation (there were a few trying times with my friend, especially since I was sick) as it speaks of having patience with others, being charitable towards others. . . "The member that sins the most must fast, and each one will know what fast suits him and which he must practice most: media fasting; doing without everything that is superfluous in a Christian's life; the indiscriminate use of the telephone, television, the computer, and of the Internet is superfluous; fasting from that which can be harmful in our conversations and which might injure our brother; fasting from lack of charity and sensitivity, from constant criticism of others, from falsehood and lies, from one's egoism. "

It also brings to mind how sometimes, these sins of ours are mere habits of our character. It is said that when trying to break a habit, it takes a solid 2-4 weeks of not doing that very thing that we break the habit or replace the habit with something better.

Just a thought. . .LOL since I needed to read this the most! I thought to share. Here's the whole article.
http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=85355

God bless you

My Lenten reflection day was awesome! I picked up a good reflection book: Renewed For Life, Daily Lenten Meditations from the works of henri J.M. Nouwen.