Here’s your checklist for a spiritually fruitful Lent

Lent is not a season that most Catholics look forward to during the liturgical year. It’s not like Advent, which signals the coming of Christmas and is a time of joyous expectation.

Instead, Lent might be seen as an arduous season of waiting before the glorious feast of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter.

It’s one of the reasons why relatively few Catholics embrace it, as its length and focus on sacrifice tend to dissuade many from even trying to enter into the spirit of the season.

Yet, Lent is one of the most important seasons of the year as the Church invites us to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, going through his Passion before reaping the fruits of the resurrection.

We often forget that Jesus didn’t simply rise from the dead. He suffered a grueling death and then invited us to follow after him.

If we want to enter into the glory of Easter, we need to go through Good Friday.

Here are a few tips that you can ponder as you prepare for the 40 days of Lent.

It’s not a requirement of the Catholic Church, but most Catholics are familiar with the tradition of the Lenten sacrifice. Essentially you pick at least one thing to "give up." Typically this is something good and not sinful (i.e. giving up looking at porn is not a Lenten sacrifice as that is something you should be working to give up at all times, as it is sin). Sin should always be given up.

Instead, what Catholics are invited to do during Lent is to give up something that they enjoy, such as chocolate, or even Netflix, and to spend that time on some other good activity, especially in service of God. It’s a sacrifice that unites us more closely to Jesus.

If you are not in the habit of reading a spiritual book, Lent is the perfect time to pick one up. Catholic publishers have a variety of easy to read spiritual classics that can be read during the 40 days of Lent.

Choosing a book written by a saint is always a good choice, while you certainly can pick something by a modern writer, since it may be easier to digest.

Part of the practices of Lent is to dedicate some of our money to almsgiving. This could be as simple as giving money to your parish or to those in need in your local community. Whatever you do, try to give a little bit more during Lent.

Lent is a great time to revitalize your prayer life. Plan now when you will pray during Lent. Often if we don’t schedule prayer, it simply will never happen. Check out your parish bulletin for special Lenten prayer services, retreats, or opportunities for Confession.

Make prayer a priority and make the sacrifices necessary to make room in your busy schedule.