The dominant theme for the past few years that I can remember is when the priest first started speaking about not just giving up something for Lent to better yourself but to better others as well. Reiterated by Pope Francis in this awesome Time article, I'll try my best to do the same.

He often quotes the early Christian mystic John Chrysostom who said: “No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great.”