02/18/2026
Giving Up? Ten Ideas for a Lent that Actually Changes You
Tired of giving up chocolate? Do you want to see real change in your life by Easter? Try one of these ideas as a Lenten practice.
ONE — Stop letting anyone in your household take any screens into their bedrooms. Don’t make excuses: “My kids need their phone as an alarm clock,” or “That’s where he does his homework.” Every single young person I talk with says their biggest problem is their screen time. Every. Single. One. Buy real alarm clocks for everyone. Put your phones outside your doors and turn up the ring volume if you are so important that you can't miss a midnight call. Make it a family rule: the virtual world of screens are for public places in your house, and bedrooms are for the real world.
TWO — Take shorter showers. Pope Francis often reminded us to care for the environment, which God created and calls ‘good’ (Gen 1:31). Shower timers can be purchased for $10. Not only will a four or five minute timer help lower your water bill, it is good for the planet and is a strong ascetic Christian practice. If you need motivation to make them short, then turn down the temperature of your water heater by a few degrees. That’ll do the trick.
THREE — “Buy” screen time with prayer. Don’t let yourself play any video games or touch social media on any devices until you have gotten a Rosary or 3 chapters of a Gospel in that day first. Maybe even think about not using the radio or podcasts until you have first listened to Christ through Mary with a Rosary in the car, too.
FOUR — Confess weekly. Even if you ‘don’t feel like you have much to say’, facing the Lord and examining your conscience each week will certainly turn up defects. If you were to clean your car weekly, you would certainly begin to find dirty places you had never noticed before. Same with Confession. You might even find that your ‘big’ sins decrease because you are attending to ‘smaller’ ones.
FIVE — Grow in faith. Take 7 minutes to read 3-5 pages of a spiritual book every day. Young people, start with St. John Paul the Great by Evert. Moms, I think you’ll like One Beautiful Dream by Fulwiler. Fathers, check out Show Us the Father by Schadt. At 3-5 pages per day, you will finish a great, new book by Easter! (Pair this with no screens in your bedroom, and you'll have a "reason" to read at night.)
SIX — Give unto others. Find one thing to give away each day of Lent. We all have too many things in our garages, basements, and closets. Physically cleaning things out spills over into cleaning things out spiritually. Whatever you give to another, you give to Christ himself (Mt 25:40), and perhaps you should give away even a few things you really do like having.
SEVEN — Adore the Lord. Find a parish or chapel near you that is always open or that offers adoration times. Then, go at least three days a week for 10 minutes each day. Physically going somewhere to pray helps your mind and heart get away from other things, and being in the Presence of the Lord will work wonders. If you’re near Evansville, come Monday night to Sacred Heart Church for our 6:30pm Holy Hour with hundreds of others who attend.
EIGHT — Visit your family. As a priest, I see many men and women fading slowly into meaninglessness in nursing homes. Their children have stopped coming. Grandchildren and nieces don’t know they are there. These people feel forgotten and unloved. Almost everyone has a family member who cannot get out. During Lent, visit your parent, great aunt, cousin or another family member every Sunday after Mass, and take along someone else in your family.
NINE — For every dollar you spend on yourself, give one dollar to charity. I’m not talking about the money you spend on groceries for your family, but things like the $5 coffee you grab on the go, the $5/month app you install for fun, and the $100 you spend on new clothes. If you deserve something for you, that’s totally fine. But so does someone else.
TEN — Turn off all non-phone-call notifications on your phone. This actually might be the one I think could be most life-changing. How often does your phone run your life? It interrupts—without your permission—the move you chose to sit down and watch. Its buzz distracts you when you’re at lunch with a friend. It decides what you think about while you’re trying to do real work. It should serve you, not you serve it! Go into your settings, and shut off all notifications—sounds and banners—and then you decide when you pull up your email, when you want to check the news, and when you want to give it attention. And stop letting it cry for your attention like a spoiled child.
If this list helped you think of other ideas, feel free to share them in comments below.
Image credit: DetroitCatholic.com
