Lenten Guide
Follow these tips to make Lent a very special experience!
A new spiritual journey starts with your desire to grow closer to God. Join us on a life-changing "40 day journey with God". During the Season of Lent, the Church offers us the opportunity to grow deeper in our faith. We are invited to feel more connected to Jesus through a path of conversion through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. But why do we need this? How to go about this? Having a relationship with God is much easier than you think. To help you, Tweeting with GOD suggests this "Lenten Guide" with multiple resources in 4 steps:
- Listen: watch videos and learn more about the weekly theme.
- Think: explore questions to lead you into a deeper understanding.
- Pray: discover ways of praying in your own moment to talk to God.
- Act: concrete actions and life resolutions to inspire a new lifestyle.
Of course, you can choose which of the suggestions can help you best; there is no need to do everything. As the weeks go by, you can decide what helps you most on your personal 40-day journey. Follow your own routine for the 6 weeks of Lent and use this guide anywhere! It can be a great help to follow Tweeting with GOD on social media during this Season of Lent. You will find daily tips, testimonies and suggestions to put your faith into practice. Are you ready to accompany Jesus on a journey of faith? Embark on this Lenten journey with us and discover how much Jesus loves you!
- Week 1 - Rediscover yourself
- Week 2 - Prayer
- Week 3 - Fasting & Penitence
- Week 4 - Almsgiving & Sharing
- Week 5 - Reconciliation
- Week 6 - Communion
- Holy Week
Sometimes a clear decision to change your life is necessary. As Christians, we are called by Jesus himself to prayer, penitence, almsgiving, and self-sacrifice through fasting. Each of these helps us place God before ourselves. Paradoxically, it also helps us to rediscover ourselves in a new light. Jesus is always present to help us in our daily life with his goodness and mercy. Do you desire to make the decision to follow Jesus? Take some time for yourself, and speak with God.
LISTEN - Watch and reflect
THINK - Find answers to your questions
- Can prayer help me to make the right decisions?
- What should I do with my life?
- What does God ask of me?
- How can I follow Jesus, and what is my calling?
- What if I am insecure, shy, or have a low self-esteem? How can I be more myself?
- What if people turn against me because of my beliefs?
PRAY - Ways of praying
- Pray with the Tweeting with GOD app! Find the section "Daily Bible Texts" on the menu "Pray" to find readings from daily liturgy.
- Define a list of intentions to pray this week.
ACT - Set your personal goals
- Take time in your day to reflect on your acts - How can you be a better person?
- Subscribe to a Catholic podcast
- Read a book about faith (We recommend Tweeting with GOD, Online with Saints, and Your Neighbour is GOD)
- Fill your playlist with Christian artists
- Add some religious art or saint's image to your home
Strengthen your relationship with God by making time for him. In particular, try to make time for prayer every day. God knows you are busy, so do not worry when you miss a prayer slot. Simply try again. You can make up for it during your day by thanking God for what is good, ask his help for what is difficult, and pray for the intentions of the people you meet. You may wish to enter an open church for a brief salute to Jesus who is present there. Or you can teach yourself a new prayer like the Rosary or the Stations of the Cross.
LISTEN - Watch and reflect
THINK - Find answers to your questions
- Why should I pray and how can I do it?
- Is praying the same as talking to God?
- How can I make time for prayer? Where is God in daily life?
- How can I pray with a text from the Bible?
- Do we pray to the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit? To Mary and the saints?
- Is prayer a waste of time? How can I find time for God when life won’t slow down?
PRAY - Ways of praying
- Pray with the Tweeting with GOD app! Pray the Rosary in your daily prayer this week. Go to Pray > Catholic Prayers > The Rosary.
- Define a list of intentions to pray this week.
ACT - Set your personal goals
- Prepare a special place for prayer in your room
- Write your own prayer
- Choose one Saint to pray with (Make your devotion via Online with Saints)
- Pray every week a different prayer (#TwGOD app)
- Pray the Rosary with a special intention (#TwGOD app)
Fasting means setting aside something that you like or need, in order to focus on what is truly important for you. You do not really need that chocolate bar, latte macchiato, and not even three full plates a day, but you got accustomed to it. Changing your normal rhythm by setting aside some of these things can help you focus more on God and your fellow people. Your physical discipline will help you grow spiritually. Make it real, but be careful not to starve yourself too much. No worries if your condition does not allow you to fast on food, for you can fast on anything. Temporarily stop watching Streaming or TV, delay getting a new phone, check social media only once a day, give people compliments instead of complaining, take a cold shower to save the environment, set your alarm a little earlier to make time for prayer…
LISTEN - Watch and reflect
THINK - Find answers to your questions
- Why do we fast for 40 days during Lent?
- Can suffering help us to come closer to God?
- Why all this emphasis on sin instead of hope?
- Muslims and Jews do not eat pork. What about Catholics?
- Can I ever do enough penance, fasting and mortification? What if I have anorexia or tend to self-harm?
- Why is wasting food and water such a great sin?
PRAY - Ways of praying
- Pray with the Tweeting with GOD app! Follow the section "Catholic Prayers > Other Prayers" in the app for your daily prayer this week.
- Define a list of intentions to pray this week.
ACT - Set your personal goals
- Reflect on why you're fasting - give meaning to your actions
- Fast from food you really like until Easter
- Fast from something (like less time on social media, TV, etc)
- Fast during weekdays and abstain from meat on Fridays (if you’re physically able)
- Strive yourself to change a not good behaviour
Be ready to give something up from what you have in order to support people in need. You can dedicate some time to help a friend, briefly chat with a homeless person, or bring some hot soup along when you go talk to your lonely neighbour. You can support worthy charity causes with your money, or buy some extra groceries for the food bank. The ultimate aim of your Lenten practice is to help you realise that your life is not about yourself, but about your relationship with God and the people around you. You can only live happily with yourself if you nurture these relationships by sharing the love that is in you. I invite you to pause for a moment, and think of how you can pray, fast, and share. What can you give up during Lent?
LISTEN - Watch and reflect
THINK - Find answers to your questions
- What is the relationship between faith and actions?
- Isn’t it unchristian for the Church to be so rich?
- Should I give money to a beggar?
- How can I recognise God in every human being?
- Is there a Christian way of communicating online? Should we be involved in social media?
- Why do some have everything and others nothing? How can I live happily when they suffer?
- Can we solve hunger by evangelisation? Why does God want me to give witness of my faith? Can I evangelise through my profession?
PRAY - Ways of praying
- Join us and pray with the Tweeting with GOD app! Go to Pray > Pope's Prayer and download the Vatican's app Click To Pray. Follow daily questions related to the Pope’s monthly prayer intention based on the content developed by #TwGOD. You can simply add Tweeting with GOD to your prayer schedule by clicking on the section 'School of Prayer - Afternoon prayers'.
- Define a list of intentions to pray this week.
ACT - Set your personal goals
- Volunteer for a local charity or non-profit
- Clean out your closets and donate to the needy
- Start your online apostolate (with Tweeting with GOD too!)
- Become more environmentally conscious
- Be less consumerist: review your priorities
God does not want to punish us for our sins. He wants us to be sorry for them and to resolve not to do them again so that we can live life to the full. Jesus welcomed people known to be sinners. He forgave them and told them to change their lives: “Your sins are forgiven” (Mk. 2:5); “Go, and do not sin again” (Jn. 8:11). He wants nothing more than to take away the sins of the world. That is why he instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation, also called confession.
LISTEN - Watch and reflect
THINK - Find answers to your questions
- Why confess to a priest, instead of just to God?
- How can I confess properly?
- Jesus forgives, but how can I forgive myself and others?
- Are the Ten Commandments still important?
- What is sin anyway?
- How can my sins be forgiven if access to a priest is impossible?
PRAY - Ways of praying
- Join us and pray with the Tweeting with GOD app! Pray the "Act of contrition" and prepare yourself for confession. Go to PRAY > other prayers > Act of contrition.
- Define a list of intentions to pray this week.
ACT - Set your personal goals
- Take time for an examination of conscience: make right decisions against sin
- Find a Church where there is confession or you can schedule a time with a priest
- Receive the sacrament of Reconciliation (prepare yourself! Click here)
- Meet someone you need to forgive or ask for forgiveness
The word “communion” literally means becoming one with Jesus. He wanted the Church, which he himself instituted, to be very closely connected to him. Every Sunday or if possible every day, we come together as Christians to meet Jesus in the Eucharist. Jesus speaks to us through Scripture, his Word, and offers himself to us in the Eucharist. We are then sent to bring Jesus into the world.
LISTEN - Watch and reflect
THINK - Find answers to your questions
- Why is Mass so boring?
- How is the Holy Mass arranged?
- Is Jesus really present in the Eucharist? What is the Consecration?
- Can anyone receive Communion?
- How do I pass the time during adoration?
PRAY - Ways of praying
- Join us and pray with the Tweeting with GOD app! You can find the standard texts of the Mass in many different languages.
- Define a list of intentions to pray this week.
ACT - Set your personal goals
- Go to Eucharistic Adoration
- Make a pilgrimage, visit a sanctuary or church
- Do something (extra) for your church community (Catechist, Lector, social work, etc)
- Go to the Mass on Sundays (let's try to go also on a weekday this Lent?)
