Renewing Our Lenten Promises: A Call to Reflection and Preparation

by Fr. John Granato  |  03/30/2025  |  Words from Fr. John

My Dear Friends,

Lent is now three weeks finished, and we have three more weeks before Holy Week and Easter Sunday. On this fourth Sunday of Lent, where the priest and deacon are allowed, if they so choose, to wear rose-colored vestments, it is an appropriate time to reflect on how we are doing with our Lenten promises.

Are we successful in abstaining from the food and drinks that we gave up for forty days? Are we turning off the television, smartphone, and social media? Are we attending Mass during the weekdays? Are we participating in the Stations of the Cross devotion? Are we praying an extra rosary? Are we praying more? Are we attending Eucharistic Adoration? Are we still following our favorite podcasts about the rosary, the catechism, or the Bible in a year? Are we offering forgiveness and extending charity to others, especially those who irritate us? Are we giving more to charity or to the poor?

Once we finish our examination of conscience, we still have three more weeks to renew those promises and engage ourselves in more Lenten disciplines. Let us prepare ourselves for Holy Week and the reading of the passion narratives on Palm Sunday and Good Friday. It is also beneficial to read the passion narratives from your own Bible every day from Palm Sunday to Good Friday as a form of prayer and meditation.

God bless.