10 things to do before the end of Lent

(pravmir.com) by Archpriest Alexander Iliashenko - One week of Great Lent remains. The week after is Holy Week, for which we have been preparing for so long, and which will be dedicated entirely to the remembrance of the Savior’s Way of the Cross to Golgotha and the Resurrection.

Lent, as always, flies by imperceptibly, so before it is over we need to stop and break away from the vain bustle that absorbs our energies and consumes our time, so that we might manage to fulfill at least a portion of what we had planned. In these final days of Lent we need to mobilize. A list of things that should be completed during Lent might look something like this:

1. Pray fervently that the Lord would grant you to see your sins, so that you might prepare for a thorough Confession; ask your spiritual father to find time to hear it.
2. Attend the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, which is served on Wednesday and Friday, and receive Holy Communion.
3. Begin to read the morning and evening prayers in full, or at least increase your prayer rule a bit; or resolve to pray with greater attention than usual.
4. Read at least one Gospel. During Great Lent the faithful try to read all four Gospels, but if you have not succeeded, then you should manage to read at least one.
5. Complete whatever pressing business you have kept putting off, so that you will be completely free on Great Thursday and Great Friday of Passion Week.
6. Visit your relatives and give some attention to your household: at least talk with them and listen to them lovingly and without haste.
7. Fulfill at least one long-standing promise: nail a picture to the wall, sort through the mess in the closet, or do whatever else you have been promising to do for weeks but have kept putting off.
8. Limit your online communication: using will power or a special program, control the amount of time you spend on a particular site; minimize your use of social sites and online diaries for at least these two weeks.
9. Ask forgiveness and be reconciled with whomever you have offended, either long ago or recently.
10. Take part in some act of charity, at least something within your powers or that does not take too much time; most importantly, take the first step towards someone who is having a hard time and stands in need of your help.