Lent is about becoming more

By adding small but meaningful habits to our daily lives, we form ourselves into the kind of people who naturally choose God, not just for 40 days, but for a lifetime.

Lenten Campaign 2025

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For many, Lent is about quitting things: sweets, coffee, social media. While fasting is essential to the season, there’s another approach that often goes overlooked: Instead of just giving things up, what if we saw Lent as a chance to build something new?

Lent is an invitation to grow in virtue — to form habits that don’t just disappear after Easter but shape us for the rest of our lives. By adding practices that strengthen faith, discipline, and charity, we can make Lent not just a season of self-denial, but a season of transformation.

Virtue is built through habit

Aristotle famously taught that virtue is not just about knowing what is good but doing it consistently. He wrote, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit” (Nicomachean Ethics, II.1).

St. Thomas Aquinas expanded on this, explaining that virtue is habitual goodness — a stable disposition to act rightly. This means that the holiest people are not just those who make good choices in a moment, but those who train themselves to choose the good again and again, until it becomes second nature.

Lent is the perfect time to begin that training. By adding small but meaningful habits to our daily lives, we form ourselves into the kind of people who naturally choose God, not just for 40 days, but for a lifetime.

The Catechism and the call to growth

The Catechism of the Catholic Church emphasizes that the Christian life is not just about avoiding sin, but about pursuing holiness: “The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God” (CCC 1803).

This means Lent isn’t just about purging bad habits — it’s about actively becoming more like Christ. Fasting is powerful, but what if we also focused on cultivating patience, generosity, or prayerfulness? What if instead of just saying “no” to things, we also said “yes” to new ways of loving God and others?

What to add this Lent

If you’re looking for ways to grow this Lent, consider adding practices that build virtue:

Instead of giving up coffee, wake up 15 minutes earlier to pray. Form the habit of beginning your day with God.
Instead of quitting social media, commit to calling one person each day. Deepen real-life relationships instead of just avoiding screens.
Instead of cutting out sweets, add intentional acts of generosity. Buy coffee for a stranger, send a handwritten note, or volunteer.
Instead of just skipping meals, practice mindful gratitude before eating. Make each meal an act of thanksgiving, recognizing God’s gifts.
Instead of just avoiding distractions, read one spiritual book during Lent. Choose something that will nourish your soul and deepen your faith.

Lent as a launchpad for holiness

Lent is a season of preparation, but its goal is not just to make us more disciplined for 40 days — it’s to make us more holy for life. When Easter comes, we shouldn’t just return to old habits. If we’ve used this time well, we will have built something lasting: new habits, deeper prayer, and a heart more attuned to God’s presence.

Jesus didn’t enter the desert just to give things up — He went to prepare for His mission. Maybe, this Lent, we’re called to do the same.