Addition or Subtraction for Lent?

I usually have good intentions about doing something meaningful for Lent each year, but then life gets in the way. I get distracted by the urgent but unimportant activities of daily life, and I arrive at Ash Wednesday with no plan. But this year is turning out to be different.

Lent is late this year (Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, is March 2), and I’ve actually been spending time thinking about what to do. In the Catholic Church, Lent is a 40 day period during which we are encouraged to pray, fast, and give alms. It’s a time of preparation leading up to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection on Easter.

Most people (myself included) usually focus on the fasting part of lent, the subtraction of something from our life. We “give up something for Lent” as a way of practicing self-discipline. But this is just one aspect of Lent, and for me, it tends to turn into a self-improvement project which gets pretty far removed from anything spiritual.

So this year, I’m thinking about the other aspects of Lent, which are more about adding something. Giving alms isn’t only about money – it can be sharing other gifts that God has given us, such as our time and talents. Adding prayer seems straightforward, but I’m considering a broader definition of prayer this year. Prayer isn’t only praising God or asking for something. Instead, prayer can focus on developing a relationship with God. And this is what I’m choosing to add this Lent.

Since I still have time, I will spend the next week investigating resources to help me with this. I think it will be helpful to have tools to give me some structure. I’ll share my decisions in the next post, hoping that these options inspire someone else.