Every year our Catholic faith gives us 40 days to imitate Jesus’ time of prayer and fasting in the desert (Luke 4:1-2). This is a perfect time to try a new form of sacrifice or to enrich your prayer life. A bigger challenge is to continue to incorporate one or two of these practices throughout the year.

Peggy Bowes is a former Air Force pilot and the author of The Rosary Workout  and Tending the Temple. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children.