This past weekend I had shared a short list of ideas for a Lenten sacrifice that didn't involve food during my homily.  I only gave a short list, and many asked if I could share a more complete list. 

This list comes from our Evangelical Catholic "Reach More" training booklet.  Our family of parishes just recently partnered with them. Right now our first group of parishioners are going through the "Reach More" missionary discipleship training. Please take some time to pray over this list and talk about this with your families.  I hope it may help you have a blessed Lent.

IDEAS FOR SACRIFICES THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH FOOD
Get creative about incorporating small, unseen sacrifices into your routine to pray for others.  Call the person you're praying for to mind whenever you make your sacrifice.

At Work 

• Stick to a schedule.
• Start on time and end on time.
• Do unpleasant or difficult tasks first.
• Whenever anyone asks for your help, give them your immediate attention (if your position allows)
• Or the opposite: schedule focused time, shut your door, close your email when not using it, silence unnecessary notifications, etc.
• Stay off of social media during work hours.
• Compliment people; go out of your way to be friendly; smile even when you don't feel like it.
• Finish your tasks as well and quickly as you can, and then offer to help someone else with their tasks.
• Close your computer if you don't need it for your current task.

At Home

• Go to 6:30 morning Mass Tuesday and Thursday mornings at our Incarnation Campus
• Let others choose music, movies, tv shows, etc.  Accept their choice with a cheerful spirit.
• Lessen a spouse's or roommate's burden: do an undesirable home task or one of their least-favorite chores before they get to it.
• do a certain number of loads of laundry per day or week.
• Fold and put away laundry immediately after it finishes drying.
• Don't leave clothes on the floor.
• Set the table, wash the dishes, or offer to make a meal if these are not part of your regular responsibility.
• Drop whatever you're doing whenever someone asks your assistance.
• Exercise regularly; or if you tend to be indulgent with exercise, end your exercises on time.
• Cut out certain amount of social media time and instead play a board game with friends/family/roommates.
• Put your phone in another room when you get home; treat it like a landline.  Only get it if it rings.
• Make your bed first thing in the morning.
• No phones or screens at the dining table or while doing activities with someone else.
• For married couples: give your spouse a five-minute massage every night.
• For parents of small children:
  • Be the one to brush the little kid's teeth.
  • Do the bedtime routine, and make it fun!
  • Offer to change the diaper or assist the toddler in the bathroom

​Miscellaneous

• don't listen to music or podcasts in the car, but drive in silence.
• Get up early and go to Mass.
• Don't hit snooze in the morning.
• Get to bed on time.
• Cut out screen time one hour before bed.
• Decrease your news or podcast consumption by one source.
• Don't give your opinion if you're not asked for it.
• Avoid positions or postures that hinder concentration or that convey negative nonverbals (legs crossed, slouching, folding arms, etc.
• Modify your curiosity/imagination: fast from browsing the internet except for work or to help someone with a specific request.
• Avoid talking about certain topics: i.e. yourself, topics that draw out negativity, things you obsess about, complaining, topics that are indulgent, etc.
• Instead of grumbling, say a prayer at red lights, when someone cuts you off, or when stuck in traffic, etc.

 
Let us pray for each other as we enter into Lent and continue to walk this path together as Our Lady of Light.
 
In Christ,
Fr. Brian 

By Sarah Chivers

Every year as we approach Lent, I tell myself I'm going to give up social media. It often drains my happiness and more importantly, it drains the time I spend with my family, outdoors, reading a good book, etc. But it doesn't take long for me to remember that my job revolves around social media - there's not much that I can do to avoid it. So I choose something else to give up or I add a special spiritual something to my daily life and still feel bogged down by my inability to avoid social media throughout Lent.

But I may have discovered a solution.

I recently read a blog article about the idea of 'First World Penances.' The writer goes into detail about how he altered his phone's settings to make everything appear in grayscale. Every text, photo, app - colorless. It took the joy and excitement from his phone.

I'd like to imagine that it gets boring pretty quickly, seeing everything in only shades of gray. He's right - it sucks the beauty out of pictures. How much quicker would we put our phones down if there wasn't anything flashy to escape the stresses of life with? How much brighter and happier would the living world around us be if technology wasn't so colorful? 

So as the person behind Our Lady of Light social media, I thought to myself... if life around us were that much brighter without color on our phones, how much more beautiful would the resurrection be if our social media went grayscale for Lent? If all of our photos through Lent were only visible in gray, how much more meaningful would color be for our Christian story as Jesus is risen from the dead?

So this year, Our Lady of Light social media will be going grayscale for the duration of Lent. We want our community to remember the solemn journey we are on towards the cross and rejoice the resurrection more fully with the celebration of the Easter Vigil. As we approach Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season, know that our parish staff is praying for you!