Here we are once again in the season of Lent. Time to practice the big three: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Catholics know the drill. Celebrate like crazy on Fat Tuesday. Fill up on sweets and abandon yourself into calories you will be fighting against for the next 40 days. Determine what you will be “giving up” for your Lenten sacrifice or what you will add to your routine to bring you closer to Christ. Then figure out what time you will attend church on Ash Wednesday and begin remembering not to eat meat on Friday and practice fasting. Then count off the days to Easter. Then Pentecost, then the calendar will barrel on through the year to Advent, Christmas, a little ordinary time then we will prepare all over again for the ashes and taking up our cross.

Sounds pretty rote and mundane right?  Routine is that little Catholic trap we sometimes fall into during our liturgical year. And it doesn’t matter whether it is Lent, Advent, Christmas, birthdays, we all can fall too easily into a spiritual or emotional rut. It’s sometimes hard to find the joy in repeated events.

I remember my friend and former news editor, Rita Pesavento (now Prunuske) saying how difficult it could be to find a new angle or perspective on events she had covered time and time again during her tenure at The Observer. While all of us at The Observer realize those were sage words, we also realized the challenge — find new ways to do the same things.

While we enjoy the familiarity and the comfort of routine and the expected, we miss the excitement of those “firsts” and the element of surprise from the unexpected.

So what do we do? The easiest thing to do is find a new perspective. Rita knew that having someone else cover an event would bring new eyes and fresh thought to cyclical assignments. So as we begin Lent 2015,  I offer a few ideas that I plan to use myself so as “to mix it up a bit” during this Lenten season. Hopefully we can help challenge each other to find the joy in our quest for a closer and renewed friendship with Christ this year.

Praying — Make it a point to find some new prayers. I am not suggesting that you replace any of your favorites like the rosary or memorare. Just find some new prayers. Look online, visit your local bookstore or talk with your friends about how they pray and if they have a favorite prayer. You can even pose this question on Facebook and see what you get.  You can even keep a little prayer journal.

Write down who and what you will pray for during each day of Lent. You can do this on your smart phone too. There are also lots of prayer apps available for your phone. Just search your app store using the word “prayer.” If all else fails, just have a little conversation with God each day. Pick a time like while you make the bed, while you’re in the shower or driving to work. God is always listening.

Fasting — There are so many ways to practice fasting if we remember that fasting is intended to empty ourselves to a new hunger. Obviously we are required to fast from food but we should also consider fasting from those things that lead us away from church or our faith so that we can develop a fresh hunger for our God. Try fasting from electronics. Promise to put your phone away and focus on friends and family instead of checking messages and social media sites. Fast from secular radio, television and reading. Read, renew and share your Observer. Find an inspirational movie on Netflix, Hulu or YouTube. Check out Relevant Radio or replace the radio or the stream of your phone by praying in the car. You might be surprised what you learn and the inspiration you can find.

Almsgiving — Giving money is easy and doesn’t require too much of our inner selves. However, if you are on a fixed income it may not seem so simple. Instead give of your time. Obviously you can volunteer at a soup kitchen, church or other charitable organization. But think about doing something unexpected. Earlier in this column we talked about how the expected can put us in a rut.  Well, try surprising someone you know with a casserole, flowers or just a nice letter or greeting card. Offer to babysit or treat someone to a movie or share your new prayers with someone. Offer a ride to church or spend some time at a nursing home playing music or games.

Just remember to step outside your comfort zone. And pray this Lent will help us find the unexpected benefit from our sacrifices.