3 Questions to Ask Yourself This Lent

How to Make Lent Count!

Lenten Opportunities

This time of year, we are inundated with Lenten options. There are videos, apps, special prayer opportunities, and books. While all of these are good, it can leave us wondering: What is a person to do for Lent? Where do I even begin?

At its core, making Lent count means choosing practices that actually help you become a better disciple of Jesus by Easter. Not just different for 40 days — but transformed in a lasting way, a conversion.

Ask yourself: 

1. Will what I’m doing this Lent truly change my heart?

2. Will it stretch me?

3. Will it draw me closer to Christ?

Giving up chocolate might do that — if it leads to greater discipline or dependence on God. Attending Daily Mass might do it — if it deepens your love for the Eucharist.

The practice itself isn’t the goal. The conversion is.

This is also where we can learn from previous years. Think back:

• What have I done for Lent before?

• What helped me grow?

• What fizzled out by week two?

• Where did I experience real grace?

Lent is not meant to be a reset button

Lent does not start from scratch every year. It’s meant to be a spiral upward. Each Lent should build upon the last. The homilies we’ve heard, the teachings Father Maletta has shared, the insights gained in prayer — these are not meant to be forgotten. They are foundations.

Perhaps last year you learned the importance of daily prayer but struggled with consistency. This year, build structure around it. Maybe you realized gossip was an area of weakness. This year, intentionally practice blessing others with your words. Maybe you discovered how powerful Eucharistic Adoration was. This year, commit to showing up faithfully.

How to Make Lent Count

Growth in one’s spiritual life is cumulative. God does not waste what He has already taught us, nor should we waste what we have learned.

The goal is not to be the same person on Easter Sunday that we were on Ash Wednesday. The goal is to be more intentional, more surrendered, more attentive, more Christ-like. Even if the growth feels small — 1% each day — it compounds.

So instead of asking, “What should I give up?” Maybe ask, “Where is God already working in me, with the gifts I already have, and how can I cooperate with that more fully?”

That’s how Lent begins to build. That’s how it becomes transformational. That’s how we make Lent  count!