Every January, gyms fill up, planners are purchased (or downloaded), and bold promises are made. Within weeks, many of those resolutions quietly fade. We are all familiar with the pattern. Good intentions meet weak follow through. Because Lent begins not long after the new year, it can be tempting to approach it with the same mindset. We choose something challenging, make a quiet promise to ourselves, and hope we can endure it for forty days.
That is a mistake.
Lent is not a spiritual self improvement challenge. It is not a religious version of a diet plan. It is a sacred season given to us by the Church as a privileged time of grace. While New Year’s resolutions usually focus on self optimization, Lent is ordered toward communion with Christ. The difference is profound.
The Church, in her wisdom, invites us each year into the desert with Our Lord. The forty days recall Christ’s own fasting and prayer. They echo the long purification of Israel before entering the Promised Land. Lent is about conversion, about returning to the Lord with our whole heart. It is about love.
Beyond Superficial Sacrifice
It is easy to reduce Lent to external practices. We give up sweets. We abstain from social media. We add a devotion. These are good and meaningful when rightly ordered. But if they are treated like temporary self discipline experiments, they risk becoming hollow.
The precepts of the Church regarding fasting and abstinence are not arbitrary burdens. They are spiritual medicine. They train the will. They detach us from disordered attachments. Most importantly, they dispose our hearts to receive grace.
When we treat Lenten practices like New Year’s resolutions, we rely almost entirely on our own willpower. And willpower alone rarely sustains us. When we understand Lent as a response to Christ’s love, everything changes. We are not proving something. We are offering something.
Begin with the Why
If you want to persevere in your Lenten commitments, begin by clarifying your intention. Do not simply ask, “What should I give up?” Ask instead, “What in my life most hinders my relationship with Christ?” and “Where is the Lord inviting me to deeper freedom?”
A sacrifice rooted in love is far more sustainable than one rooted in vague self improvement. Write down your intention. Offer it explicitly to the Lord. Connect your fasting to prayer for a specific person or intention. When sacrifice is personal and relational, it becomes meaningful.
Unite Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving
The Church always presents these three together. If you only remove something without adding prayer, the space will likely be filled with distraction or frustration. If you add prayer without sacrifice, you may lack the interior focus to sustain it.
Consider choosing one concrete practice in each area. Set a realistic daily prayer commitment. Choose a fast that stretches you but does not lead to discouragement. Identify a specific act of generosity, whether financial or through service.
Balance is key. Overly ambitious plans often collapse by the second week. Humble, steady commitments bear fruit.
Build Structure and Accountability
Professionals understand the importance of systems. We set meetings on calendars. We establish measurable goals. Apply that same seriousness to Lent.
Schedule your prayer time. Prepare simple meals in advance if fasting from certain foods. Inform your spouse or a trusted friend of your commitments. Consider going to confession regularly during the season. The sacrament of reconciliation not only forgives sins but strengthens resolve.
If you fall, do not abandon the entire effort. Begin again immediately. The enemy loves discouragement. The Lord loves perseverance.
Keep Your Eyes on Easter
Lent is not an end in itself. It is ordered toward the joy of the Resurrection. Every small act of self denial is a participation in the Cross, and every faithful effort prepares us for deeper Easter joy.
Unlike New Year’s resolutions, which often center on self achievement, Lent centers on grace. We do not earn holiness. We cooperate with it. The Church gives us these forty days as a window of mercy, a time to reorder our loves and renew our friendship with Christ.
Approach Lent not as a seasonal challenge but as a sacred encounter. If you do, your sacrifices will no longer feel like burdens to endure, but offerings of love to the One who gave everything for you.
P.S. Last year, as guests arrived at the venue for the Tepeyac Leadership Gala, we asked them a simple but important question. Their answers were thoughtful, candid, and deeply hopeful for the future of our Church and our society. In the video below, you will see a compilation of their responses.
