Hi friends! It’s Marissa here to talk about Lent — my favorite liturgical season! Every day during Lent, we are called to fast from something, abstain from something, or maybe add something that is outside of our normal routine. Every single day reminds us of the season. I get so excited for Lent and am inspired by Catholic writings, which has led to a habit of over-extending myself with ambitious Lenten plans. A major weakness I face as a Christian is coming to Jesus in daily prayer, so I try to renew that practice every Lent. In 2016, I had a stack of books I was planning to read during Lent along with a prayer routine of a chaplet and structured prayer (examen, petition, thankfulness, Scripture reading, and "free form prayer")… I was also just starting graduate school and found that this ambitious Lenten plan was not only incredibly stressful for me to maintain, but it also turned into a distraction from my actual goal: PRAYER!
Every year since then, I have tried to pare back my tools and simplify, simplify, simplify. This year will be no different. Here at ESS, Christie, Kassie, and I want to help you simplify by highlighting resources that will keep you on track this Lent and deepen your relationship with Christ as we march toward Calvary. Don’t make the mistake I made in 2016 and try to incorporate all of the resources below into your daily Lent life. We encourage you to really reflect on what God is calling you to this Lent and choose the resource(s) that best fit you rather than trying to do it all.
Hallow App
We are huge fans of Hallow here at ESS. This app, which provides guided prayers through your phone, is intended to be used year-round, and I’m excited to have recently started using it in time for Lent. What stands out to me with this app is instead of focusing on just one type of prayer, Hallow demonstrates the expansiveness and diversity within Catholic spirituality by offering many prayer methods so your experience can be tailored to what will make you grow the most. You can customize your prayer lists to include things like the Stations of the Cross, the Psalms, playlists on love, hope, forgiveness, and letting go, use of daily Gospels, the rosary, the examen, and even prayers to use right before you go to sleep! This is not a one-size-fits-all prayer generator but rather a Swiss army knife resource that can be designed for you. I’ve already signed up for the Lent #pray40 challenge. If this sounds appealing to you, please join me!
Walking Through Holy Week by Karen May
Walking Through Holy Week is a great book to add some oomph to your prayer routine once Holy Week arrives. Even if you are unable to attend Mass (though this book would ideally be used in preparation for Mass), you can still access all of the Holy Week readings with deep reflections, points of contemplation, and exegesis. Beginning with Palm Sunday, this book provides and analyses every reading for each Mass of Holy Week, bringing to light many insights that you likely hadn't known. This book is the perfect companion for those who want to experience Holy Week in a brand new way.
Living Your Baptism in Lent by Fr. Dennis Strach
This Lenten resource stands out as it revolves around the Baptismal promises we renew every Easter — and it is written by our dear friend, Fr. Dennis Strach, CSC! Each week in this book, we are given the opportunity to understand what it means to say "I do" at Easter — for example, "Do you reject sin as to live in the freedom of God's children?" — so that when Lent has come to a close, we can deeply understand what we are promising again to ourselves and God. A combination of explanation, reflection, and prayer, this book (also available in Spanish) is truly one-of-a-kind and will serve you through Lent. You can also see a preview of the contents here.
Homily Directory by Equipping Catholic Families
If you want to dive deeper into the Mass readings this Lent, check out this directory of online homilies that Monica McConkey has compiled at Equipping Catholic Families. Of course, we all hear our own homily every week (and take notes, if you have your Every Sacred Sunday journal with you!), but listening to an additional homily can be a great way to spend more time with the Mass readings. Lucky for us, we live in 2020, and technology allows so many wonderful priests to make their homilies available broadly — and now they are easy to find, thanks to this directory! There’s also a section to submit your own homily resources if you know a priest or deacon whose homilies are online and would benefit a broader audience.
Abiding Together Podcast
This is one of our favorite ESS discoveries of this year. Abiding Together was born out of a need to remain connected with faithful and devoted Catholics even if we live in a community without a strong Catholic group to surround ourselves with. Founded by Heather Khym and co-hosted by Sr. Miriam James Heidland and Michelle Benzinger, the Abiding Together podcast provides "a place of connection, rest and encouragement for people who are on the journey of living out their passion and purpose in Jesus Christ." This Lent, Abiding Together is hosting a six-part virtual book study on the Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri J. M. Nouwen, a deeply personal and reflective meditation on Nouwen's spiritual connection to Rembrandt's painting by the same name. You can subscribe to Abiding Together through your favorite podcast app to tune in. The full schedule for the book study can be found here.
Here, Too: Where We Meet God Lenten Journal, Blessed Is She
"If you’ve ever wondered if God is in your circumstances, right where you are, this book helps you find the answer. Hint: He is." I think we all know this to be true, but we don't always feel it. While feelings are not the most important thing, being able to sense God's hand in our lives is something we all want. This year, the wonderful women at Blessed Is She have created a beautiful Lenten devotional that helps you be more aware of God’s presence in the daily hustle. Perfect for personal use or group sharing, these daily reflections provide reminders of God's extraordinary presence in the ordinary.
Hosanna Lenten Devotional, Take Up & Read
With a talented team of insightful writers, Take Up & Read consistently creates content-filled devotionals — and this year they’ve brought back a classic! Hosanna is a beautiful journal that utilizes the ancient prayer form of Lectio Divina to dive deep into the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel that will lead us to Easter this year. If you loved their Above All devotional (that we described here!), this would be a wonderful option to continue growing from last year. There is also a free sample of the first week of the journal here if you want more details.
The Morning Offering Journal, Live Today Well
We're so excited about this new publication. While not specifically for Lent, the Morning Offering Journal is perfect for us Type A personalities who wake up with a to-do list on our mind and our hands itching to scroll through the latest on our phones. Mary and Kara at Live Today Well created this journal to help you reclaim your morning by slowing down and spending that time with our Lord, reflecting on the day ahead with Him. This 90-day journal is not specifically designed for Lent, but we believe it is a great resource for beginning your day in prayer, carrying you through Lent and the Easter season.
"Stain” — Jackie Minton
Need a break from reading? Music is another great way to pray! You've probably heard Jackie’s music even if you don't know her name. Jackie Minton won the songwriter contest (judged by musicians like Matt Maher!) for SEEK 2019. I'm especially familiar with her voice because she sings in the collegiate Mass choir for University Catholic, directed by my fiancé, for students of Belmont and Vanderbilt University. Featuring strings and piano, Jackie Minton's pure and beautiful voice soars in her latest single, "Stain." While this song was not specifically written for Lent, the theme reminds me of how we may feel when we approach the Lord with our messiness and, well, stains. We can't remove a stain ourselves; we need help to remove it — in the form of a stain remover for physical stains, and Christ's saving grace for spiritual stains, made accessible to us in confession through His death and resurrection.
"Rain, rain, pour down, wash this stain out
I want to be clean"
Remember: Simplify! Pray and meditate on which resource(s) can help you flourish during this sacred time. Pick a few things and really spend time with them, let them rest in your heart, wrestle with them, and allow them to transform you. Use these days in the desert with Christ so you can be prepared to take up your cross on Good Friday in the hopes of rising again on Easter Sunday.
From Christie, Kassie, and myself — thanks for being here, and we're wishing you a blessed Lent!
In Christ,
Marissa
Marissa Meyer is a dog mom who also cantors within the diocese of Nashville when she’s not serving as the lead editor at ESS or helping answer ESS customer emails. She loves late nights talking to her loved ones, star gazing, fire places, and going to concerts. The world is constantly surprising her with how it points to the Truth found in the teachings of the Catholic Church.