Rather than give up some trivial pleasure like candy or beer…. What about giving up 15 minutes each day to do something very meaningful toward making true repentance in our hearts and minds; something we’ve always SAID we have wanted to do but never actually do, like reading Scripture or familiarizing ourselves with the Catechism of the Catholic Church; something concrete that will help us understand the path of life that leads to ETERNAL HAPPINESS WITH GOD???

Can we give up just 15 minutes per day of social media, video games, or watching the political posturing on news channels?

Now, I understand that we probably wouldn’t be able to read the Bible or the entire Catechism during this Lenten season, but there are certain sections of the Catechism and Books of the Bible that we are certainly capable of reading in bite-sized quantities in just 15 minutes per day.

Option 1 – Suggestion for Lent

• Read both Gospels of Luke and John. (They are both Gospels but written very differently).  The Gospel of Luke contains 24 chapters while John contains 21 chapters for a total of 45 chapters.  Guess what??? From Ash Wednesday to Good Friday there are 45 days.  That equates to only 1 chapter per day, which certainly can be read in less than 15 minutes.

Option 2 – Suggestion for Lent

•  Read Part 3 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which addresses our Life in Christ.

Section 1 in that Part explains Man’s Vocation.  This is a great start to understanding the very purpose of our lives.  Its is 75 pages short.  That equates to 1 1/2 pages per day or 9 paragraphs per day.

Section 2 in that Part delves into the Ten Commandments.  There’s a lot more to these commandments of God than just the surface.  This section is a little longer at 113 pages, but that’s still less than 2 pages per day!!

Option 3- Suggestion for Lent

• Read Part 4 of the Catechism, which addresses the power of Prayer.  It is also 75 pages, but fewer paragraphs, only 8 paragraphs per day will get you through the entire Part 4 on Prayer.

Option 4 – Suggestion for Lent

•  Read just the Passion Narratives from each Gospel accounts. Below is a breakdown of the verses.  The breakdown amounts to less than 45 verses per day, which certainly can be read in less than 15 minutes.

The Passion Narratives

1st Week

• Mon.  MT 26:1 – 46
• Tues.  MT 26: 47 – 75
• Wed.  MT 27: 1 – 31
• Thurs. MT 27: 31 – 66
• Fri.  MT 28: 1 – 20

2nd Week

• Mon.  MK 14: 1 – 42
• Tues.  MK 14: 43 – 72
• Wed.  MK 15: 1 – 32
• Thurs. MK 15: 33 – 47
• Fri.  MK 16: 1 – 20

3rd Week

• Mon.  LK 22: 1 – 38
• Tues.  LK 22: 39 – 71
• Wed.  LK 23: 1 – 43
• Thurs. LK 23: 44 – LK 24: 12
• Fri.  LK 24: 13 – 53

4th Week

• Mon.  JN 12: 1 – 50
• Tues.  JN 13: 1 – 38
• Wed.  JN 14: 1 – JN 15: 17
• Thurs. JN 15: 18 – JN 16: 33
• Fri.  JN 17: 1 – 26

5th Week

• Mon.  JN 18: 1 – 32
• Tues.  JN 18: 33 – JN 19: 16
• Wed.  JN 19: 17 – 42
• Thurs. JN 20: 1 – 31
• Fri.  JN 21: 1 – 25

 

Fr. Steve Bruno