Michael Cochran

Parish: St. Mary, Monroe

Lenten promise: Giving up fried food and alcohol

“In an effort to live a healthier lifestyle, I’m giving up fried foods and alcohol for Lent. Your body is a temple, so you should treat it as such.

“When I’m working out at the gym, I also tend to listen to some Catholic and faith-based podcasts. So I’m not only strengthening my body and losing weight, but I’m also strengthening my soul and my faith at the same time.

“In addition, I started a Bible reading plan, reading a laid out set of Scripture throughout the year. Every day doing that helps me strengthen my faith while I’m at the gym. I’m hoping by going through these 40 days without fast food and alcohol, I can really concentrate on those Scripture readings while I work out and make it something I can continue past Lent.”



Nick Switzer

Parish: St. Joseph Oratory, Detroit

Lenten promise: Daily Mass

“In 2016, I was at Our Lady of Good Counsel (in Plymouth) and Fr. John Riccardo recommended daily Mass as a possible Lenten promise, so I did that, going to Mass before work.

“One of the things I noticed was the intimacy of going to daily Mass, the silence. There’s something about that which can be challenging — the silence with the Lord, sitting alone with God. I began to fall in love with the liturgy, the beauty of the Mass. But then I started to realize I was receiving the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin for a majority of my life. I didn’t go to confession for 10 years, during some really ‘juicy years.’ So going to Mass drew me to the confessional.”

“Lent is an amazing time to really start taking the next step in being a disciple. From that 2016 Lenten promise, that continued. When I talked with some of my friends about what I was doing, they were thinking I would eventually move on past it. But I remember thinking, ‘No, the Mass is when you are receiving Jesus Himself. I won’t grow out of it.’”