It may be hard to believe, but Lent is right around the corner. It starts on Ash Wednesday, which is February 17th this year, so that means Lent is just a few weeks away! Do you know what you’re doing for Lent this year? How will you be participating in the prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that mark this penitential season?

Whether you’ve got your Lenten game plan all set, or you have no idea what you’ll do, there are some things you can do right now to prepare for Lent. Father David Jenuwine, a regular Morning Air® contributor, stopped by this week to discuss why it’s important to ramp up to Lent.

“You practice if you’re prepping for a sport, in theater and concerts there are rehearsals, and we need to do the same thing,” he said. “So instead of considering Ordinary Time as cruise control or just chilling out, we’ve got to realize that Lent is going to be on us in 3 weeks. So what do we do?”

Sign Up for Lenten Lessons
Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a way to learn, grow, and renew your faith every day during Lent? Well, you’re in luck! If you sign-up for Father Rocky’s Lenten Lessons on the Mass today you’ll be ready to have short, inspiring reflections sent to your inbox starting on Ash Wednesday!

Last year, tens of thousands of people journeyed together through Father Rocky’s Lenten Lessons on the Mass. Delivered to your inbox daily, these Lenten Lessons are a popular way to renew your love of the Mass and deepen your knowledge of the greatest sacrament during this season of repentance.

And this year, Lenten Lessons on the Mass are better than ever! In addition to the 60-second audio reflections, Fr. Rocky has recorded daily bonus videos that go behind the scenes and dive even deeper into the meaning of the Mass. Learn more about the Mass while you drive to work, at dinner time with your family, or while you brush your teeth!

Sign up for Lenten Lessons today so that you are prepared to learn, grow, and be inspired with the first lesson on Ash Wednesday.

Enlist Companions for Your Journey
Fr. Jenuwine shared that one of the ways he is preparing for Lent is with Exodus 90, a spiritual program for Christian men that focuses on prayer and asceticism/self-denial in order to form new habits and break unhealthy ones. But another key aspect of Exodus 90 is that one does it as part of a group. These small groups meet on a weekly basis, where they find community and support on their journey.

Fr. Jenuwine suggested that one way to prepare for Lent is to gather a group who can encourage and support you along your Lenten journey.

“This might be harder during Covid, but find a community, a group of people,” he encouraged. “We’re all sick of Zoom calls, but maybe start up a prayer group Zoom call.”

Find Your Prayer Time
Maybe part of your Lenten promise is to pray more. A daily Rosary, a Holy Hour, a 15-minute meditation, diving into Scripture. Whatever it is, it’s crucial to figure out where in your day you’ll fit your prayer time in. If not, you may get discouraged because the days go by and you can’t seem to find the time for this extra prayer.

Fr. Jenuwine suggested that most people can find their prayer time by turning their car into a sort of mobile chapel. He said, “A lot of times people say, I’ve got kids underfoot, I’ve got responsibilities, but I think we all find ourselves at some point during the day getting into or getting out of our car. If we can use that moment in the car and say, ‘I’m going to use 5 minutes for God.’ or ‘I’m going to take 15 minutes for God.’ Turn that time of driving into a time of prayer.”

One great way to make your driving time your prayer time is by making use of the Relevant Radio® App. You can listen live to the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3pm CT during The Drew Mariani Show™, pray with families across the country during the Family Rosary Across America® at 7pm CT, tune-in to Holy Mass at Noon CT daily, or download one of the many audio prayers available to pray along with us anytime!

Listen to the full conversation with Fr. David Jenuwine below:

Morning Air can be heard weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. Central on Relevant Radio and the Relevant Radio App.