During the season of Lent, the Church invites us by God’s grace to undertake three works that, we pray, will lead to our spiritual renewal, preparing us to celebrate Easter. I’d like to invite you to send in anything you are doing so that others too might consider them: something modest and easily do-able. The only condition is that it must fall clearly under one of the categories below. We’ll add to the list below as the weeks go on, thus building up a resource for future years.
Please email your proposals to Deacon Craig: executiveassistant@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk

1. Works of (daily) prayer: Attending Mass; saying part of the Rosary; making the Stations of the Cross; prayerfully reading the Gospel of the day; reading a daily meditation (online or from a book); reading a spiritual book (lives of the saints, prayer, aspect of faith); saying Morning Prayer or another part of the Divine Office.

2. Works of fasting: giving up tea, coffee, chocolate or alcohol; giving up a favourite biscuit, fruit, food or sugar in a drink; not snacking between meals; fasting on Fridays; cutting back using the computer, social media or watching TV.

3. Works of almsgiving and charity: assisting a parish charitable activity; visiting someone who is sick or elderly; volunteering when an appeal is made; saving money from a work of fasting and donating it to a good charitable cause; supporting CAFOD and Caritas; a work of ‘advocacy’ campaigning for a just cause (e.g. writing to an MP); random acts of kindness at school, work or in the home; giving up idle conversation.