How it works
Working hard and juggling commitments shouldn’t mean you miss out on spending time with God! That’s why we’ve designed a Lenten journey that fits with you. The idea is to make space for prayer, abstinence, charity, scripture and, most importantly, the Sacraments, in a way that is entirely manageable and possible in our busy world. By creating flexible bites of prayer and action, we hope you’ll be able to engage fully with this important season.
All the links, resources, ideas, and films you need to make your Lenten journey as simple as possible can be found below. Here’s an example of how to use your planner (although the possibilities are almost endless – you can fill it in however you choose!):
Each week, download and print your free printable planner – one for each week of Lent. Choose which days to focus on each action:
- Give something up (use our suggestions on the next tab, or think up your own)
- Do something extra (use our suggestions on the third tab, or think up your own)
- Reconciliation meditation (click on the videos below)
- Read scripture (choose your own or click on the ‘Read Scripture’ tab)
- Watch a story about the lives of Missionaries we support overseas (click on the films below)
- Share our message – on your social media, by word of mouth, in Church (click the social media icons below to follow our channels)
- Pray with others: go to Mass or, if you can’t get to Mass, join a livestream online (click on the ‘Pray with others’ tab to access useful information and links)
3. Pray every day – there’s always time for a Hail Mary, an Our Father or a Glory Be.
- Give up a treat, such as your daily coffee, chocolate or other snacks. Donate what you save to the Red Box
- Cut scrolling time on your phone and spend more time in prayer or with the people you love. You could use our printable prayer prompts (find them here) to open up discussions about faith and scripture
- Give up TV; read daily Scripture instead
- Give up gossip or complaining… we can all fall prey to the temptation to speak negatively sometimes. By thinking more about what we say, we can often create a kinder, more constructive atmosphere, and even get to the bottom of why something was troubling us in the first place, allowing space to heal
- Give up self doubt: make today the day you believe you can make a difference!
- Visit someone who could use a friend
- Increase meaningful time with family – perhaps a family walk or dinner. You could even use our printable prayer prompts to add a spiritual focus and share your thoughts together
- Care for Creation: take a walk and pick up any litter you see along the way
- Take on an extra chore at home – especially if you’re not the person who does the tidying or cooking!
- Volunteer at Church: does the children’s liturgy group or after-Mass welcome team need an extra pair of hands? You could even spread awareness of Missio while you’re there!
- Take some supplies to your local food bank or find other ways to help in your community
Whether you attend Mass every Sunday, whenever you can, or you haven’t been for a while, Lent is a beautiful time to attend Mass and reconnect with the beauty of the Sacraments.
- If you’re not sure where your nearest parish is, your diocesan website might be a good place to start
- If you can’t attend Sunday Mass, you can check your local Parish for Mass times throughout the week you may be able to make
- If you are unable to attend Mass in person, you may find many dioceses and parishes offer a livestreamed Mass Visit churchservices.tv to find online services
- You’ll find details on your diocesan or parish website. Click on the links below to visit your Diocesan website:
Arundel and Brighton
Birmingham
Brentwood
Cardiff
Clifton
East Anglia
Hallam
Hexham and Newcastle
Lancaster
Leeds
Liverpool
Menevia
Middlesbrough
Northampton
Nottingham
Plymouth
Portsmouth
Salford
Shrewsbury
Southwark
Westminster
Wrexham
Missio depends on the donations and prayers of the faithful to support the work of missionaries around the world. We are so grateful when people share our message – whether that’s clicking share on a Facebook post or speaking at Mass. Every little and large contribution helps, and we can help you every step of the way. Find all the ways to help share our message, whether you have five minutes or plenty of time on your hands.
Of course you can pray your way each day. But here are suggestions in case they are useful.
- Join our weekly Mission Rosary and pray for each continent of the world>>
- Pray the Holy Father’s Prayer Intention – especially on Fridays at midday>>
- Pray for missionaries and seminarians, and find other Missio prayers here>>
- Use our Stations of the Cross Reflections to explore the messages of Lent here>>
Reconciliation Meditations
These video meditations are a way of preparing to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and to deepen our relationship with God during Lent.
You might also like our Stations of the Cross films, and reflections from Mill Hill Missionaries, which you can find here>>
Reconciliation within myself as God’s child
Reconciliation with those I have wronged
Reconciliation with those who have wronged me
Reconciliation with the earth
Reconciliation with God
Reconciliation for the whole world
Missionary lives
This Lent, we’d love to share more about what Missio is and what we do around the world to share the Good News of Christ with all our sisters and brothers. Once a week, why not click on one of the films below and get to know us better?
More Lent Resources
Find more prayers, reflections and films for Lent here>>