Today marks the beginning of the Lenten season in much of the Church. As is the case every time this season rolls around, I’m reminded of my youth and the years spent within the Roman Catholic tradition. Whether you were Catholic or not (I was not), you had to attend service at some point during the day, and then opt whether to receive ashes on your forehead. Depending on the moment, I’d say yes, understanding some of the significance of those ashes. And then there was the humor of trying to figure out what it was on our foreheads when it didn’t look like a cross. Funny moments, and certainly one of those moments where these days, I wonder how the common occurrences of mobile tech with kids could turn both that tradition and humor on its head.

The ashes though aren’t the end of the experience. Even in those youthful moments, teachers and parents would ask “what are you going to be fasting for Lent?” Some classes got competitive with the fasting – with classes logging who’s not watching TV or students cleaning up their language for 40 days. There are those folks who’ve taken to making those 40 days into 40 acts of kindness. And then there are those folks who look at pushing just a bit further, deriving that idea of a Lenten fast from the framework of the perspective in Isaiah 58 – removing something from your life but putting that into another’s life.

No matter how you spend those 40 days, if you are observing Lent, then do more than just fast for the sake of it, or serve just for the sake of it. As our friends over at Church Mag made note of the other day, “it isn’t just about the “giving up,” it’s about getting ourselves mentally and spiritually ready for Easter.”

We’ve got a list of apps to also assist on your Lenten activities. But, you don’t need an app, just a dedication towards some time to contemplate on what the resurrection means inside and beyond our traditions.