"Fasting is not enough"

Some things to consider doing for Lent:

Do something positive–not just giving up things (yet another attempt to lose weight!): (Augustine: “Fasting is not enough”). The money you save by what you give up should go to the poor.

getting in touch with people (relatives, friends)

a letter
a phone call
a visit

visiting the sick, the elderly, the lonely

repairing a broken relationship–take the initiative

asking for forgiveness
bestowing forgiveness

volunteering in your community, in schools (e.g., remedial help), in church

giving more time to your family, your children, your spouse
(E.g., less TV so you have more time for each other)

making “quality-time” for God (not just the scraps of the day)

for private prayer–could you spare 15 minutes? Maybe before you get into your day?

for daily Mass

for reading that enlightens and strengthens your faith (Do you have an adult knowledge & appreciation of your faith? Or do you remain where your religious education–how many decades ago?–left you?)

Rev. Joseph A. Komonchak, professor emeritus of the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America, is a retired priest of the Archdiocese of New York.