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How to Lent @OLM

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We don’t usually notice how far we’ve wandered until something runs dry.

The younger son in Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son thought freedom meant distance. Distance from home, from dependence, from the Father. For a while it worked. Until it didn’t. Hunger has a way of telling the truth, and in that moment he discovered something unexpected: the road back was still open.

Lent begins the same way every year, with ashes. Not as a sign of defeat, but of honesty. We remember we are not self-sustaining. We need mercy. And the surprise at the center of the Gospel is this: God is not waiting to scold us for returning. He is already running toward us.

This season invites us to face that mercy, not in theory but in our real lives. We fast to loosen our grip on control. We pray to learn again how to listen to Him. We give so that love can move outward instead of circling inward. What feels like emptying slowly becomes receiving.

If you’ve drifted, come home.
If you’ve grown comfortable, go deeper.
If you’re weary, walk lighter.

Below are ways our parish will walk this road together. This Lent, don’t try harder. Come closer. Take a step. The Father meets every step toward Him with more than we expect, and before you know it, you’ll find the story of your life makes sense in His.

START HERE

Pick one step – you can’t do this wrong

Most people begin with The Rescue Project or Confession.

The Rescue Project
Parish Mission
Week Long Adoration
Stations of the Cross
Go to Confessions
Feed My Starving Children Service Day
CRHP Men’s or Women’s Retreat
Salt & Light’s ‘No Greater Love’ Study on the Passion

CHOOSE YOUR PATH

I’m busy

I want Lent to matter… but my life is already full.

Start small and steady.
Try a 5-minute prayer each morning and come to Stations of the Cross one Friday this Lent.
You don’t have to overhaul your schedule — just give God a little space and let Him meet you there.

Good first steps

  • 5-minute daily prayer

  • One Stations of the Cross

  • Optional: stop by the Eucharistic Adoration Chapel for 10 minutes when you can

  • Try Stations of the Cross this Friday
I’m curious

I’m not sure where I stand right now, but I want to explore.

Come to The Rescue Project.
There’s a free dinner, a short talk, and honest conversation.
No pressure, no expectations — just a place to listen and ask questions.

Good first steps

  • The Rescue Project (Thursday evenings)

  • Parish Mission: Facing Mercy

  • Come to The Rescue Project on Thursdays
I want deeper

I already have faith, but I feel God inviting me closer.

Make intentional time for prayer and formation this Lent.
Spend an hour in Adoration and commit to learning more about the story of salvation and your place in it.

Good first steps

  • Weekly Adoration

  • CRHP Men’s or Women’s Retreat, Salt & Light’s “No Greater Love”  Lenten study, or Bible Study on “Acts: The Spread of the Kingdom”

  • Daily Scripture reading

  • Choose an hour of Adoration
I need healing

Something in my life needs mercy, not just motivation.

Begin with Confession.
Then come to the Parish Mission where we’ll reflect on God’s mercy and how He restores what feels lost.
You don’t have to fix yourself first — you just have to come.

Good first steps

  • Confession. And come to the Confession Unplugged talk

  • Parish Mission: Facing Mercy

  • Quiet prayer before the Blessed Sacrament

  • Come to Confession this week

THIS LENT AT OLM

(See what’s coming up–you can join at any point.)

Starting Now

Thursdays during Lent — The Rescue Project (6:30pm)
Free dinner, short talk, & conversation → Register.

Fridays — Stations of the Cross
A short prayer walk with Jesus’ Passion→ See times.

Confession — Many opportunities weekly
Come whenever you’re ready — no appointment needed →Schedule.

Coming Soon

March 2 & 3 — Parish Mission: Facing Mercy (7:00–8:00pm)
Two evenings reflecting on God’s mercy and healing with Fr. Ryan Adorjan.→ Event Details.

Later in Lent

Feed My Starving Children Service Day
Pack meals for children in need around the world.→ Sign Up to Serve.

March 23 (8am) – March 27 (11:59pm) — 24-Hour Adoration Week
Sign up for an hour or stop in anytime for quiet prayer.→ Choose an Hour.

Holy Week

Palm Sunday → Easter Sunday
Full schedule will be posted soon — this is the heart of the season.

WANT TO EXPLORE EVERYTHING AVAILABLE THIS LENT? SEE ALL OPPORTUNITIES BELOW.

Prayer

Daily Mass & Weekend Mass Penitential Rite During Lent

During Lent, we will be using a different form of the Penitential Rite at our Daily and Weekend Masses to help deepen our spirit of repentance and renewal. This adaptation calls us to reflect on our need for God’s mercy and prepare our hearts for the Paschal mystery. Let us enter into this sacred season with openness, seeking God’s grace as we pray together:

  • Priest: Have mercy on us oh Lord
  • People: For we have sinned against You
  • Priest: Show us oh Lord Your mercy
  • People: And grant us Your salvation
  • Priest: May almighty God have mercy on us forgive us our sins and bring us to life everlasting.
  • People: Amen.
Reconciliation Schedule at Our Parish & Nearby Parishes (Coming Soon) + Confession Unplugged Talk on 3/11

 

South DuPage Deanery Lenten Parish Reconciliation Services & Reconciliation Times (Coming Soon)

 

 

Lenten MAGNIFY 2/25 & 3/25

DisABILITIES Mass with Bishop Spies on 3/1

Weeklong Lenten Adoration (Monday through Friday) 3/23 through 3/27

The Way of the Cross for Loved Ones Who Have Left the Faith on Mondays

Stations of the Cross at 12pm in Spanish and 7pm in English on Fridays

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Prayer Ideas
Prayerfully Reflect On Your Lived Relationship With Jesus – Spiritual Needs Inventory

Fasting

Fasting during Lent is a spiritual practice aimed at growth, penance, and preparation for Easter. Catholics are required to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, limiting themselves to one full meal and two smaller meals that do not equal a full meal. All Fridays during Lent are days of abstinence from meat, except on solemnities (such as the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord). The fast is not just physical but also a spiritual act, encouraging repentance, self-discipline, and solidarity with the poor. Certain individuals, such as the elderly, the ill, and children under 14, are exempt. Fasting should be accompanied by prayer and almsgiving for a complete Lenten experience.

This Lent, we invite you to step away and fast from your usual weeknight routine and embrace a different kind of fasting—one that creates space for spiritual renewal. By participating in our Lenten offerings, you have the opportunity to encounter Jesus in a transformative way, opening your heart to His healing and love. These experiences provide a meaningful way to fast from the ordinary and draw closer to God in a profound and lasting way.

Fast from your daily routine embracing instead a new routine of Thursday evenings @ OLM at The Rescue Project

Or Wednesday Evenings or Thursday Afternoons at “No Greater Love” at Salt and Light Grow Group

Or Tuesday Evenings at the Bible Study on Acts: The Spread of the Kingdom

Parish Mission “Facing Mercy” with Fr. Ryan Adorjan

FACE IT… God delights in showing mercy.
“Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13)

This Lent, come experience our Parish Mission: Facing Mercy with Fr. Ryan.

🗓 Monday, March 2 & Tuesday, March 3
⏰ 7:00–8:00 PM

Using Scripture and the richness of our Catholic Tradition, Fr. Ryan will unfold God’s mission — a mission of reconciliation, recalibration, and abundance of life through His Son, Jesus.

✨ Night 1 — The Story of Salvation
From creation and the fall to Christ’s rescue… God has been pursuing you all along.

🫀 Night 2 — Your Story & Our Response
Facing our wounds, rediscovering we are beloved sons and daughters, and learning how mercy sends us outward with hope.

This isn’t just a series of talks.
It’s an invitation to see your life through the lens of mercy.

Come as you are. Bring someone who needs hope this Lent.
Because when we face mercy… it changes everything.

#FacingMercy #LentAtOLM #MercyTriumphs

CRHP Christ Renews His Parish Men and Women’s Retreats

Almsgiving

CMAA Catholic Ministries Annual Appeal “Beyond All Expectations: Faith that Elevates!”

Ash Wednesday Collection for the Church in Central & Eastern Europe

CRS Rice Bowl is the Lenten program of Catholic Relief Services

Pick up a bowl at the Parish Office or Family Faith Formation Office. A Rice Bowl is a simple cardboard box used to collect Lenten alms. It comes with a Lenten calendar that guides families throughout the 40 days of Lent with activities, reflections, stories and opportunities to put alms in their Rice Bowl. Combined, the bowl and calendar are a staple on the table of Catholic families across the country each Lent.

Pick Up An Easter Bag for a Child in Need

Annual Parish Service Day @FMSC Feed My Starving Children

Lenten Fish Dinners (Proceeds Support the Teen Mission Trip)

Lenten Soup Supper Benefiting St. Vincent de Paul & the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels

NOT SURE WHERE TO BEGIN?
Start with one small step — or just come on Thursday evenings. You don’t have to have Lent figured out to enter it.