I’m currently looking for some good ideas for penances to do during lent. They don’t need to be anything extravagant but some simple, good old fashioned penances would do the trick. Thank you!
Something I do every Friday night is praying the Stations of the Cross kneeling with my arms outstretched in the shape of a cross (taking a break from holding my arms out in between Stations). That’s something I’ve been thinking of doing daily this Lent.
Not eating between meals, fasting Wednesday and Fridays, mortification from giving opinions to readily, not leaning fully back on chairs or pews, media fasting, divine mercy prostrated with arms outstretched, turning off radios etc while driving, doing an act of kindness to those that irritate you the most, not talking about yourself in conversations etc. Sometimes the interior mortifications can be more difficult.
Pray Psalm 51 at the end of each cycle of 5 mysteries of the Holy Rosary, or recite it 7 times during the complete prayer. This can be done three times after concluding the joyful and sorrowful mysteries, respectively, and once more before the final thanksgiving and the Hail Holy Queen. I believe the Psalms are deeply connected to our purpose of becoming a "Praise of Glory", fulfilling various spiritual needs. In the case of Psalm 51, it carries a naturally penitential tone, which is intensified when combined with the Holy Rosary. This practice can also help you establish a minimum routine of at least one hour of daily prayer. If you don’t have time to complete this "penitential exercise" all at once, you can intersperse it among your various tasks and work throughout the day. This will instill in you a sense of responsibility to finish the penitential exercise by the end of the day and, at the same time, constantly revive the holy fear of God in your heart.
The app , 'Verbum' , is good for reading a Chapter of the Bible each day. I have been using it for a year now and have gotten to the Book of Psalms. I have also discovered the wonderful Stations of the Cross, which I do my best to do each day.
