Desert 40 For Men 

All three of these pillars are essential aspects of Christian life. This is why taking up this spiritual exercise requires taking up all three of these pillars humbly, as well.

- 20 minutes of daily prayer

- Daily Gospel Reading

- Daily Reflections on EWTN

As men, we are called to participate in a unique way in Christ’s Body. Are we the spiritual leaders we need to be? Should our friends and family trust the decisions we make? Should they trust that we will lead them where the Lord is calling them to go? Without a life firmly rooted in prayer it is nearly impossible to know where God is leading us. Without a life of daily prayer, it is even harder to be confident that we know where the Lord is asking us to lead our friends and family at any given moment. It’s time to start praying.

During Desert 40, we will build up a habit of daily prayer. We will commit to praying 20 minutes each day. During 20 minutes of silent prayer, we will both speak to and actively listen to the Lord. In addition, we will read each day’s Gospel throughout Lent, as well as daily reflections offered on EWTN (https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/reflections/lent).

If we stay faithful to daily prayer, we will grow in our ability to hear God speaking. This grace will help us live out the spiritual life to which the Lord is calling us as men.

- Take short showers

- Practice regular, intense exercise

- Get a full night’s sleep (at least seven hours is recommended)

- Abstain from alcohol

- Abstain from desserts and sweets

- Abstain from soda or sweet drink (white milk, black coffee, and black tea are

permissible)

- Abstain from television, movies, or televised sports alone (each may be watched with one’s spouse or at a social event but not alone to “kill time”)

- Abstain from video games

- Abstain from non-essential material purchases

- Only listen to music and podcasts that lift the soul to God

- Only use the computer for work, school, or essential tasks (e.g., paying bills)

- Only use mobile devices for essential communications; cut out non-essential texting, app, and internet use.

- Take Wednesdays and Fridays as days of fasting. (Abstain from meat and only eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal)

The ascetic disciplines laid out in Desert 40 help each of us detach from the things of the world. A man living out the ascetic disciplines above without living the disciplines for prayer and fraternity would be doing something, but he would not be doing Desert 40.

Desert 40 is equally an exercise in prayer as it is in asceticism, and in asceticism as it is in fraternity. Just as we need all three to live out the Christian life, so too we need all three to take up Desert 40.

*On Sundays and Solemnities, each participant may take away 1 item from the above list of Asceticism (for example, on Sunday, a participant may choose to drink alcohol).

- Attend Weekly Fraternity Meetings

- Check-in with your Anchor daily

This essential aspect of the Christian life is one of the most obvious and yet overlooked aspects of the Christian life today.